


Omega against omega

by tooweird2live



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan Is The Sun, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, OT23 (NCT), Omega/Omega, Personal Growth, Slow Burn, all members mentioned, deep ig, implied side ships, renminhyuck are best friends, switch markhyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:20:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26585761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooweird2live/pseuds/tooweird2live
Summary: Mark and Donghyuck are two very different omegas who experience the same truth; it´s hard to be alone as an omega in an alpha´s world.  Luckily for them, they find each other, and fight their way.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 27
Kudos: 154





	1. First things first

**Author's Note:**

> Can you tell that abo dynamics fascinate me? Bc they do, so many possibilities that could possibly happen. 
> 
> Sorry in advance for all the typos; I need a beta but I also don´t want a beta bc someone editing my work feels personal for some weird reason…? Idk if it makes sense. Anyways, I hope that you´ll have fun with this story!!
> 
> Heads up: I´ll be uploading 2 chapters at once for the first few chapters, bc I think that´s better for the flow of the story. So chapters 1 & 2 are up now

Mark and Donghyuck are two very different omegas.

Let´s start with some basic facts.

Lee Donghyuck is a male omega, scent: cinnamon. He has silver hair, full lips and tanned skin splattered with moles. His height is average, but his legs are sinfully long. His shoulders are broad and his waist narrow. His figure is soft and slim.

Donghyuck is in his second year of college. He has two majors (and a crazy sleep schedule). He is doing social studies, cause that´s what he´s passionate about; he wants to change society for the better. His second major is marketing, since he figured out he could change the system from within, and challenge a bunch of stereotypes while he´s at it.

Donghyuck is currently living at his college´s dorms. His roommate is his best friend Renjun.

Donghyuck´s favorite color is black. He likes being fashionable, but sticks to wearing baggy clothes that hide his body. He likes videogames, music, dramas and cooking for people that are special to him. He has a golden heart.

Donghyuck is an extrovert all the way. He´s talkative, sassy and witty. The boy is a little reckless and a lot smart. He´s respectful, caring and funny. But, overall, Donghyuck is always ready to kick ass and speak his mind. He´s not the usual omega, and he´s used to the consequences of that.

Now, on to more complicated things.

Donghyuck´s parents are a female omega and a male alpha. He has a good relationship with his parents, and his parents seem to have a lovely marriage. He also loves his siblings very much; he has two beta brothers and an unpresented sister, all younger than him. Donghyuck´s life with his family was good. However, his family´s ideas have always been inclined to the alpha supremacy system. Donghyuck doesn’t only not agree with said system, he wants to explicitly fight it. While his parents have never been against his “rebellion”, they haven´t supported it either. Donghyuck is (mostly) okay with that.

Donghyuck´s friends are a group of particular individuals; all betas and omegas with a lot of fight in them. They, too, dream of changing the world to a more equal one. Taeyong and Kun are the protective moms of the group, while Taeil is the cool grandpa. Xiao Jun, Yang Yang, Guan Heng, Jaemin, Renjun and Donghyuck himself are the children (even if they´re all in college now). Jisung is their baby. There are no couples in the group, but all of them protect each other. Donghyuck has a personal history of getting into trouble for standing up for his friends (and he´s proud of it).

Another important thing about Donghyuck: he doesn't trust alphas. He doesn´t hate them per se, but his level of distrust could be reaching the category of paranoia. He hasn´t been strongly harassed or anything like that, but little things that happen every day (the leering, the threats, the discrimination) have taken their toll on him. Donghyuck knows not all alphas are bad, his dad is proof of that, but he would rather think bad of all of them to save himself, than hope that they´re good and end up hurt. So, Donghyuck limits his interaction with alphas – and if he has to interact with them, he makes sure to treat them the way they treat him; if they´re respectful, he´ll be respectful too, if they´re mean, he´ll be meaner.

Donghyuck believes there are three types of alphas: 1) the ones who stay away from him because no one likes a snappy omega, 2) the ones who leer at him even more for that, because if he did what he´d been told, it´d take out the “fun” of forcing him to do it, 3) the ones that are not attackers nor defenders, just bystanders who support the abuse with their silence.

That takes us to another important fact about Donghyuck. He hates the thought of being under – under control, under the system, under someone´s influence, under their body. He hates it and will do anything to avoid it, even spend his heats alone.

Donghyuck has never trusted anyone enough to be in a relationship. Yes, he´s had some fleeting crushes on a couple of betas, but nothing that wouldn´t pass with some weeks. So, no relationships and no sex for Donghyuck. If the pain of his heats is too much for him to handle, Renjun lends him a hand as a fellow omega. It is not unusual for omegas to do this; any kind of sexual interaction between omegas is considered friendly ( _how can it be real sex without an alpha?_ Is what all these close-minded people like to say). But, as distrustful and careful as he is, Donghyuck is still a romantic; whenever Renjun helps him – or he helps Renjun – they follow some strict rules, including no kissing or anything with a mouth, and no dicking, only fingers and vibrators allowed. They´re friends helping each other out, they still have some personal boundaries.

Donghyuck might seem fearless, but he is very afraid, he´s just good at disguising it as anger or joking about it. But Donghyuck is a strong omega, ready to take the world by the horns and break the vicious cycles that hurt people. He is a hopeful fighter.

On the other hand, there´s Mark.

Mark Lee is a male omega, scent: snowdrop. He has raven-black hair, brown doe-eyes and fair skin. His height is average, but the way he stands makes him look shorter. His shoulders are broad and his waist narrow. His figure is slim but he´s covered in hard muscle.

Mark is in his third year of college. He majors in English. Despite having “only” one major, his sleep schedule is almost nonexistent due to his multiple hobbies. He takes some music courses here and there, and helps out at college´s library to gain some credits (also because he loves helping people and reading). Mark still doesn´t know what exactly he´ll do with his life, but he figures he´d like to work with children. For now, he wants to enjoy.

Mark is currently living at his college´s dorms. His roommate used to be his friend Jungwoo, but he moved in with Yukhei (the traitors became a couple). His new roommate is a dude named Jaemin, whom he hasn´t met yet, but sounds friendly.

Mark´s favorite color is pink. He has no interest in clothes, he just wants to be comfortable. He likes music, books and playing basketball with his brothers (although he can´t do that often because it´s an “alpha thing”). He is a golden child.

Mark is kind of an introvert but not really. He´s talkative with his friends, but a little shy with strangers. The boy is a walking encyclopedia and still manages to be dumb dork, somehow. He´s diligent, caring and oblivious. Mark is friendly, and loved by everyone who meets him. But even with his friends, he doesn´t usually stand up for himself. He´s not the usual omega, but he never lets it show.

Let´s continue with less basic stuff.

Mark´s parents are a female omega and a female alpha. He really looks up to his moms and wants to have a love like theirs someday. Mark has two older alpha brothers, Johnny and Jaehyun. The three of them are really close, and both alphas are very protective of Mark. While his whole family has always been supportive of Mark and his dreams, Mark has never really strayed from his model-child image, so he doesn´t know if they´d support him with less “conventional” things. Mark is close to his family, but he keeps some things to himself, just in case.

Mark´s group of friends couldn´t be more varied. His brothers´ friends kind of adopted them into their group, and they are a mess. They are an unusual family; Doyoung is the nagging mom, Johnny the dad, Jaehyun the cool uncle, and Ten and Yuta are the crazy uncles. The weird thing is that Johnny is dating Ten, Yuta got his boyfriend Sicheng into the group, and Yukhei and Jungwoo are…themselves. Chenle is the loud and devilish baby of the group. Mark and Jeno are the normal kids. They all love each other.

Another important detail about Mark is that he´s scared shitless of alpha strangers. Nothing too bad or too big has happened to him – he´s been lucky – but he knows how society works. Sure, he trusts his brothers and friends with his life – and he is okay with alphas introduced by them or whom he´s known since before presentation. But other alphas scare him. Usually it´s not noticeable, because he´s always protected by his friends. The problem arises when he´s alone, since he´s not really the type to stand up and fight back. Mark tries to stay with someone all the time (it makes him feel like he´s missing out on being his own person, but safety looks like a bigger concern). Of course, his friends don´t really know this and Mark wants it to remain that way.

Mark believes there are three types of alphas: 1) the ones who are nice enough, but only because they want something from him in return, 2) the ones who fragrantly abuse of their privileges as alphas, 3) the ones who actually care about him (which only includes his friends and brothers).

Now, this doesn´t mean Mark has never been in a relationship with an alpha. Mark is a romantic, and his moms have always told him that a relationship is not all there is to life, but it can be fun and fulfilling for some people. Mark wants to find an alpha and fall in love. He had an alpha girlfriend in high school, they even stayed together for the first year of college. She… dumped him afterwards. Then, Mark dated an alpha dude for the next year, but it was mostly to get “help” with his heats. They broke up because Mark´s friends thought he was dangerous, and the guy didn´t really mind (Mark knew he was there for his omega body, not for _him_ ).

Mark might seem like the perfect omega from far off, but if you look closer, there´s much more to him than that. Mark is a shy omega, and he isn´t too sure if he can really let himself be. But he is determined and curious, and he wants to find out.

It´s pretty clear.

They are two very different omegas who experience the same truth; it´s hard to be an omega in an alpha´s world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This surged from a song in Spanish. [Translation of the lyrics here!](https://lyricstranslate.com/es/mujer-contra-mujer-girl-against-girl.html) and this is the [song](https://open.spotify.com/track/7mgnUwSB3fWKG4dNFexFNv?si=TTL3pRfVQIy9nVuZD3Y2Pw), it´s so pretty, please listen to it  
> 
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


	2. The beginning of something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Donghyuck meet for the first time. It evolves into a beautiful friendship (perhaps something more).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Donghyuck hates the rooming arrangements. It´s not even been one week since the semester started, but Renjun already has a mess over the floor because of some art project. And really, Donghyuck doesn´t blame him, he knows Renjun needs the space to work – the problem is that they also need that space to walk from the kitchen to their beds.

It would all be so much easier if omegas and betas could ask for solo rooms, just like the alpha kids. But no, it´s not allowed. Apparently, alphas deserve a room of their own so that they can have their rut in peace (and bring an omega over for it). However, omegas can share a room while in heat or are expected to have an alpha who can take them in for three days. Let´s not even talk about betas, they are lucky if they get a beta roommate, but if they get stuck with an omega…well, they´ll need to be out of their room three days every two months or kick the poor omega out.

It´d all be easier if they´d let anyone request a solo room, and then choose who needs it the most – or even randomly select to make it objective. Or if they´d have good campus security so that the arts kids could actually leave their works in the arts room.

But life is sad and unfair, Renjun and Donghyuck can deal with it just fine.

In an attempt to save Renjun´s work from their clumsiness and inevitable tripping, they decided to hang out at Jaemin´s room. Sure, Jaemin has a shared room too, but it´s more orderly than one with a stressed Renjun.

“Moooooork Lee!!!” Jaemin (unnecessarily) yells as he opens the door to their shared room. Donghyuck and Renjun enter behind him, amused smiles on their faces.

Then, Donghyuck sees a pretty, dark-haired boy sitting on one of the beds, guitar on his lap. His eyes are wide open and his eyebrows are hidden beneath his bangs. The boy is wearing a grey hoodie, basketball shorts, _and_ these really cute black framed glasses. Hyuck finds the boy adorable.

“Oh, hi, Jaemin and Jaemin´s friends,” he says with a surprisingly deep voice and polite smile.

“Hey,” the omegas reply.

“Soooooo, this,” Jaemin says pointing to Renjun, “is Renjun, he´s very nice to you if you´re very nice to him. Otherwise he´ll strangle you, he has no heart and doesn´t care if you´re pretty.” Jaemin is just finishing his phrase when Renjun takes him into a choke-hold. The boy brings a hand to his mouth, trying to cover his laugh.

“I´m Donghyuck,” the tanned omega introduces himself, smiling in the boy´s direction.

“I´m Mark,” the boy replies with a friendly smile of his own. Donghyuck thinks he looks really nice smiling.

“You don´t have to be shy with Hyuck, he´s a sweet cupcake,” Jaemin says as he grabs Donghyuck´s cheeks between his hands and squishes them.

“Yeah, the scariest and most shameless cupcake you´ll ever meet,” Renjun adds.

“Oh, Renjunnie, one of these days, you´ll wake up with your eyebrows shaved off for being a bitch,” Donghyuck singsongs in a high, honey voice. A fight ensues. Giggling sounds and empty (?) threats bounce off the walls.

Jaemin, as always, doesn´t mind it. The pink-haired omega invites Mark to play Uno with them. Mark accepts. Jaemin´s friends look like they´re nice.

And they do have fun. Mark finds that Donghyuck is one of the funniest people in the planet, and added to Renjun´s savageness and Jaemin´s randomness, it turns out to be a mess full of laughter. He would really like for them to become his friends.

Donghyuck really likes Mark too. The black-haired boy doesn´t speak much, but the younger omega has a feeling that it´s only because they just met. And he wants to get to know the older omega. Plus, he´s seen Mark looking like he´s about to speak and then stopping himself from doing so; Hyuck doesn´t like that, he wishes Mark felt safe enough to share his thoughts with them. But well. He guesses they have time to build a friendship.

For a first hang out, it went pretty well.

***

Mark loves his job at the college´s library. Not only does it give him some spare money and credits, he also loves books – and working in the library allows him to read as many as he wants in his free time during a shift.

Mark loves books for many reasons. The first one is that he likes to learn; he reads every kind of book available to him, as long as they make his brain feel alive. He also loves books because they make him forget of reality for a second, and allow him to dream of a better world and impossible things. But the biggest reason why Mark loves books so much is that they make him feel less alone – not that his friends don´t support him or anything like that…it´s just that he can let go with books, he can be himself and no one will judge him or be hurt by that. And Mark likes it, likes the moments when he doesn't have to pretend about anything.

But well, that´s a topic for another time. Right now, Mark needs to finish putting these returned books back into their place.

He goes up to one of the most reserved aisles in the library to leave a book titled _Miracles for breakfast_. He finds someone he wasn´t expecting to see.

Donghyuck is sitting at one of the tables in the corner. His head is resting on his arms, and he´s fast asleep for the looks of it. He´s wearing a huge blue sweater and jeans. His silver hair is a little disheveled, but looks as fluffy as ever. There´s a cute pout on his pink lips, too. Mark thinks Donghyuck looks good like this.

Don´t get him wrong, since the first moment he lay eyes on him, Mark thought Donghyuck was one of the prettiest omegas he´d ever seen. But, part of Donghyuck´s charm is how dangerous he looks. The other omega has an aura screaming “don´t mess with me”, and his sharp eyes make that impression even stronger. However, in this moment, sleeping in the library, Donghyuck looks nothing close to dangerous. Mark thinks this side of Donghyuck fits more with his warm cinnamon scent.

Mark knows he´s supposed to wake up people who are just there taking up space, it´s part of his job at the library. But Donghyuck looks peaceful and relaxed, and Mark knows he´s probably napping here because of something related to rooming arrangements (they´re awful). So, he lets him be – at least for a few hours before closing time.

If Mark thinks Donghyuck is cute, no one should know.

***

Donghyuck is woken up by someone gently shaking his shoulder. He blearily opens his eyes, taking in his surroundings. There´s a faint smell of snowdrop. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes with his fists and looks up to find Mark smiling at him.

“Sorry, but you have to leave soon,” the black-haired omega says in a soft voice.

“Oh yeah, no worries,” he answers as he stands up. “Thanks for letting me nap here,” he chuckles.

Mark only smiles at him. Hyuck picks his things up and waves him goodbye.

***

This little situation of Donghyuck napping at the library and Mark waking him when it´s closing time keeps happening for the next week. They usually do small talk when the younger boy wakes up. They somewhat become friendly acquaintances.

Truthfully, they would be fine just like that. The fact that Mark is Jaemin´s roommate doesn´t mean they have to become friends. However, they both want to. And the opportunity soon presents itself.

Mark is frankly going crazy. He´s running on an hour of sleep, an apple he ate hours ago, and stress. That can´t be good for his health. Being half dead doesn´t mean he can slack off at work, though. So, Mark sucks it up like a big boy.

He has to put _so_ many books back in place, and he´s _so_ tired. Although, it´s kind of his fault for staying up doing homework after procrastinating the whole day.

“Hey, want some help?” Mark hears a honey voice say. He turns around to find Donghyuck there. Huh, it´s the first time they meet before the younger boy falls asleep.

“Oh, um, no, that’s okay,” Mark answers. He tries to smile, but it probably comes off as a grimace. Donghyuck doesn´t let up.

“C´mon, Mark Hyung. You look like you could fall asleep standing,” he replies, gesturing to Mark´s tired face (and probably the purplish spots under his eyes).

“No, no, I don´t want to be a bother-“

“Nah, it´s fine. It´s time for you to laze around and for me to work, don´t you think?”

Mark gives Donghyuck a grateful smile before instructing him on how to place the books. The younger omega proves to be a fast learner. With Donghyuck´s help, Mark finishes sooner than expected. Donghyuck tells Mark to just leave and go rest, but Mark is having none of it.

“I have to close up later,” the older omega says. Donghyuck rolls his eyes.

“At least take a nap, Hyung. I´ll guard the books from thieves while you sleep,” Donghyuck jokes.

“What if someone needs help with something?” Mark asks, biting his lip in worry.

“I´ll tell them to come by tomorrow,” the younger answers immediately. “ _And_ , I know a really good corner, where no one will bother you,” he continues.

Mark barely stops himself from scoffing. He´s so tired, it´s getting difficult to pretend to be all nice and sparkly. Just for that reason, Mark actually takes Donghyuck´s advice and sleeps.

It is, truthfully, one of the most reviving naps Mark has ever had.

Almost an hour later, Donghyuck shakes Mark awake, telling him it´s time to close up.

“Thank you so much for helping me, Donghyuck, you´re a life saver,” Mark says as he picks up his things and heads to the exit.

“Hyuck.”

“What?”

“You can call me Hyuck, all my friends do,” the younger clarifies. Mark´s mouth and eyes are wide open in surprise, but they turn into a sweet smile soon enough.

“Okay.”

They walk to the entrance together, talking about great naps they´ve had in their lives as people who don´t sleep that much. Donghyuck finds Mark is someone who laughs a lot, even if he tries to restrain himself. He likes the older omega´s laugh.

When they walk out, Hyuck notices a man waiting right outside of the library. He has dark hair, a strong build and smells like he´s an alpha. Donghyuck tenses immediately. He halts his steps and touches Mark´s arm lightly, signaling for him to stop too.

At first, Mark is confused as to why Hyuck suddenly stopped talking. Then, he sees who he´s staring at. Mark relaxes.

“He´s walking me back to my dorm,” Mark explains. Donghyuck looks questioningly at him.

“Are you sure you can walk with him this late?” the younger omega carefully asks. What he really wants to say is _are you sure you´re safe walking in the dark with an alpha?_ Maybe Donghyuck hasn´t known Mark for that long, but that doesn’t mean he´ll just let him walk into danger like that. Hyuck believes that he should help anyone he can, even if they´re not close to him – as long as they want his help.

Mark looks at Donghyuck´s worried eyes, and seems to understand the underlying question. He offers a smile to the silver-haired boy.

“It´s alright, he´s my friend,” he says. Donghyuck answers with a tight smile.

“Right. See you around,” he replies. Then, he goes off the other way, where his own dorm is.

What Donghyuck doesn't tell Mark is that most crimes against omegas are committed by alphas they know. And maybe he´s being too paranoid, but he doesn´t care. He´d rather be afraid and cautious, than careless and taken by surprise.

He might not agree with Mark´s behavior, but he can respect it. He thinks that seeing this unfair world as it is, and still not being afraid of it is something very brave – even if it´s also a little stupid. But well, that´s Mark´s choice to make.

Still, when Donghyuck gets to his dorm he texts Jaemin to ask if Mark made it back safely. Jaemin says yes. Hyuck is relieved.

***

Mark and Donghyuck meet at the library a couple of times a week. Donghyuck doesn´t only sleep in the library anymore. Now, he also takes a liking to giving Mark company.

It´s the beginning of a good friendship.

They talk a lot. They joke and share stories about their days. They slowly get to know each other. And Donghyuck being a chatterbox greatly helps Mark to leave some of his shyness behind.

The thing is, Donghyuck still thinks Mark is not being completely honest. Hyuck doesn´t mean this secret-wise, he understands the boundaries of privacy (most of the time), but what Mark does is nothing like keeping a secret he wants to bury; it´s more like forcing himself to keep hidden something he wants to _say_.

Donghyuck doesn´t think Mark is comfortable speaking his mind. It wouldn´t bother him if Mark liked it, but the older omega seems to be bothered by it. Most people probably don´t notice – Mark is good at pretending, he´ll admit – but Donghyuck takes pride in noticing details. He wishes Mark would be more comfortable in his own skin.

As the most annoying person ever (an award given to him by his friends), Donghyuck thinks he can get Mark to stop hiding. He believes he knows just which buttons to push to make the older omega snap.

“I bet I can tell the ending of that novel just by reading the synopsis,” he says one day. Mark looks up from the book he´s holding.

“It´s a bit more complex than that,” Mark answers, frowning a little and looking down to hide it. He´s not agreeing but not disagreeing to Hyuck´s statement. Huh, the older omega does that a lot; he dodges confrontation with another question or simply by not really stating his opinion.

“You might be overanalyzing it,” Donghyuck says. He really does hate the words coming from his mouth, but he knows this is the easiest way to get Mark to talk back.

“Hmm,” Mark grunts noncommittally.

“It´s only another meaningless love story. There´s an emotionally constipated alpha, who shows affection by hurting the object of his love, for some reason. And then there´s a supposedly independent omega, who leaves all their values and individual brain behind to end up married to the big bad alpha, who´s not so bad, only misunderstood by everyone.”

“That’s not it, Hyuck. There is so much more than that,” Mark starts explaining. He sounds annoyed but also a little bit excited to share his thoughts. “Maybe the elements of the plot are the same, but _how_ the story unfolds is different and meaningful. This is about love, but also about finding one´s true self. Plus, the author´s style is so-“ Mark stops in the middle of his rant.

“What? Keep going,” Donghyuck says with a small smile, his big eyes trained in Mark.

“I-I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to contradict you and be rude…I-I got in the heat of the moment,” Mark says, avoiding Donghyuck´s eyes. The younger omega frowns a little bit.

“Don´t worry, you don´t have to agree with me, or anyone for that matter,” Donghyuck says. “I like listening to what you´ve got to say.”

“Really?” Mark asks, his eyes snapping up. Hyuck nods. “I…it´s just… it´s easier to avoid conflict this way…and, I don´t know, there are so many opinions, mine is only one more in a hundred.”

Mark doesn't tell Donghyuck about how he´s a little bit scared of being himself, and then having people hating him for that. Mark doesn´t tell Donghyuck that he avoids conflict because he doesn´t think he´s strong enough to handle it on his own. Mark doesn´t tell Donghyuck that he´s tired of pretending to be perfect for everyone.

Yet, Donghyuck understands.

“Well, I don´t know about the avoiding conflict thing cause it´s not my thing,” Hyuck says, scratching the back of his neck bashfully. “But I do think that everyone´s opinions, thoughts and feelings matter. And if some people don´t like it, then fuck them.”

“You think so?” Mark says with a small smile. That is such a Donghyuck thing to say.

“From what you´ve let me see, you have an interesting mind,” Donghyuck says with a shrug. Mark feels blood rushing to his face.

“Thank you,” he replies, adjusting his glasses.

“I mean it, speaking up looks good on you,” Hyuck says with a dazzling smile. “If it makes you happy, maybe you should try it more often.”

“Maybe,” Mark answers. Then, he says what he´s been thinking, without worrying about Donghyuck thinking he´s impolite: “Now stop interrupting my reading, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck gasps in mock-offense, but Mark can see the delight in the younger´s eyes. Mark feels a little bit lighter.

“Yes, sir,” the silver-haired boy says. He goes back to doing whatever he was doing before deciding to annoy Mark.

And Mark thinks that maybe Hyuck is right. Maybe he doesn´t have to pretend – at least not around some people. Even if his fears are not gone, he knows that he can stop hiding so much… and if something happens, he knows Donghyuck will be there for him, maybe some of his friends too. He just has to try.

***

Mark and Donghyuck become closer. With Mark mustering the courage to be himself around the younger omega, he finds it easier to breath – like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

Mark seems to smile more openly now. He laughs out loud and stomps his feet on the ground cutely when he finds something particularly funny. He claps like a seal when one of Donghyuck´s jokes really gets to him. Donghyuck likes the sight of a happy Mark.

They talk about everything and nothing. Some days, they will only bicker and complain about homework. Other days, they will philosophize about life or bring out their more personal problems. When Mark is having trouble with anything, Donghyuck asks if he wants to talk about it, and he distracts the elder from the topic if the answer is no. When Donghyuck is having trouble with anything, Mark always ends up distracting Hyuck, because the younger boy never wants to talk about it.

They become really good friends because they listen to each other despite their differences. They try to understand the other´s point of view, and provide comfort even if they can´t always understand.

Maybe it´s strange that they became so close in such a short period of time. But neither of them cares for that. The bond behind their friendship is more meaningful than time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Patience is a virtue hahaha. I swear this is only the calm before the storm and rainbows…the story´s pace will pick up soon, it´s slowburn after all. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this! Update in a few days!
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


	3. The devolopment of a little something else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Donghyuck become closer. Feelings get involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAYY! Let´s get it! Remember this a double update, so chapter 3 and 4 are up now :)

Donghyuck´s little group of friends is walking towards a small restaurant. Hyuck, Jaemin, Renjun and Jisung are all meeting Mark´s friends, as per the black-haired omega´s request. Donghyuck brought Guan Heng with them too, cause he´s great at making friends.

Of course, Mark got this idea to hang out when he noticed just how much Donghyuck distrusts alphas. And he gets it, he´s not fond of alpha strangers either. But Donghyuck´s outlook on life, especially that pessimistic attitude he takes when it comes to alphas…Mark doesn´t like it. He thinks Hyuck has built a wall so high and so thick to protect himself from the bad people, that he can´t see all the good people around him. Mark thinks he can show Donghyuck that there are more good alphas than he thinks.

So, here he is, about to meet Mark´s alpha friends. Well, at least their hang out will be in a public place, during daylight, as Donghyuck had asked.

He identifies which table Mark and his friends are sitting at almost immediately. There is a tall, handsome guy talking to a dark-blue-haired boy with a loud dolphin laugh. Actually, both of them are loud. Sitting with them is Mark and a pale boy with a pretty smile. In general, their group looks chaotic. That´s good, maybe they´ll get along just fine.

Donghyuck guides his friends to the table. Mark notices him and smiles. Donghyuck thinks the older omega looks cute, even if he´s wearing only a simple black t-shirt and jeans. He smiles back.

“Hey! What´s up?” Mark greets them, as they sit down.

“I´ve been thinking,” Guan Heng starts with a serious expression.

“Oh no-“

“We should start selling pictures of our feet to rich, kinky people.”

Renjun facepalms. Donghyuck sighs; they haven´t even introduced themselves yet and it´s already a disaster.

“YO, man! That´s actually a good idea!” the giant, handsome beta answers.

“Why would you do that?” Mark asks with a confused pout.

“Because I´m in need of money?? Duh?”

“Rich people wouldn´t buy feet pics, trust me, I´m rich,” the younger dark-blue-haired alpha says.

“ _Damn_ , flex,” Jisung adds. The young alpha smiles at him and winks. Jisung blushes.

“I can´t believe I practiced an introduction for this,” the other alpha murmurs.

“We can still introduce ourselves: hi, I´m Jaemin!” the pink-haired omega says as he extends a hand in the alpha´s direction. Leave it to Jaemin to feel sorry for the quiet guy and try to cheer him up. The boy´s eyes widen.

“I´m Jeno,” he says back, almost shyly.

“I´m confused,” Renjun says.

“Hello, Kunfused, I´m Yukhei.”

Donghyuck can´t help bursting out in a laugh. Mark follows along. The older omega thinks that he likes the sound of Hyuck´s laugh. Plus, it makes his eyes crinkle adorably.

“Hi, Hyuck,” he whispers so only Donghyuck can hear him.

“Hi, Canada,” Donghyuck whispers back with a small smile.

“Help me pick up the mess?” the older omega asks, gesturing to their friends.

“Nah, joining the mess sounds like more fun.”

The rest of the hangout is, indeed, a mess. But, once again, it is a fun and comfortable mess. They have a good time.

Donghyuck finds that he likes Mark´s friends. Yukhei is a little bit (a lot) hyper and loud, but he´s funny and bright. The older alpha – Jeno – is really nice and kind of a nerd. Hyuck can clearly see why he´s so close to Mark. Chenle, the younger alpha, is also loud as fuck, but he´s a sweet kid, if only a little mischievous. Donghyuck takes a liking to him.

He also knows his friends are enjoying themselves too. Chenle manages to have a full generation-Z-talk with Jisung (which is good, cause he doesn´t have that many friends his age). Jaemin is having fun joking with Jeno. Renjun and Guan Heng are engaged in a conversation with Yukhei.

Donghyuck wants to trust them, he really does. However, things are not as easy as that. He enjoys their hangout, but he finds himself always on guard, paying attention to what Mark´s alpha friends say, trying to determine if they´re a threat to his friends (of course, he´s discreet; he doesn´t want to unnecessarily make them uncomfortable). He feels a little guilty about it, but he´d rather be safe.

And, yes, Donghyuck sees Mark´s point – about everything; how stressful it is to be on defense mode all the time, how he´s not giving alphas the opportunity to be good, how there are people worth meeting. Donghyuck knows he´s prejudiced, and that he can´t keep living like this. Even if he sees that, he can´t change his ways just like that.

Donghyuck thinks trust is like a bridge made of glass, connecting two people. It takes a lot of time to clear the area for the bridge to be constructed safely. Then it´s a while longer to build a strong structure to support it. Then, more time is needed to build the bridge over the support pillars. And then, you need to demonstrate that bridge will hold if someone tries to cross it.

And the smallest fracture can extend itself and make it all crumble down.

Donghyuck doesn't want to be a pessimist. He wants to believe that he can be friends with these guys – cause they really seem to be nice people, and Mark likes them. He wants to try, but it will take a while to trust them. He thinks it´s okay, as long as he tries.

If Mark notices Hyuck´s struggle, he doesn´t tell. He only keeps showing his support to his friend through gentle glances.

***

Mark and Donghyuck keep meeting at the library. Sometimes, Donghyuck helps Mark with some of the smaller tasks he´s given. In return, Mark helps Donghyuck out with his homework when he doesn't understand something. Donghyuck develops a ridiculously long list of nicknames for Mark; Mark rolls his eyes every time he says a new one, but smiles fondly. Donghyuck makes a point of helping Mark close up and walking him to the alpha in turn (which is Jeno, most of the times).

They grow closer still.

Mark even introduces Donghyuck to Johnny and Jaehyun, who walk Mark to his dorm on some nights. The silver-haired omega charms them away; they bond over being the Mark Lee protection squad, along with Yuta. And Mark knows his brothers now have a soft spot for Hyuck (doesn't everyone who meets him?).

Their friendship has gone marvelously, without major inconveniences. Until stupid, asshole alphas start giving them trouble one night.

They are sitting side by side, peacefully talking about which is the best color ever – Donghyuck says black, Mark says pink – when two alphas reeking of pheromones approach them.

“I hear you´re working nights, you looking for a client, sweetheart?” one of the men asks Mark. Donghyuck is about to tell him that he´s gonna shove his working nights up his ass and out of his throat, but Mark places a gentle hand on his knee.

“I can only help you if you´re looking for a book, sir,” Mark says with a polite smile.

“Pretending to be innocent? I´ll show you the only thing you´re good at, _omega_ ,” the man replies, giving them a nasty stare. His scent is stinking the air around them, tinging it with aggression and something putrid. Mark´s hand stays firm on Donghyuck´s knee, grounding him. Finally, the alpha huffs at the lack of answer and eaves with his friend.

Donghyuck is seething with anger. He hates it. He hates alphas who think that everything and everyone belongs to them. He hates alphas who believe everything happens because of or for them. He hates alphas who claim to know it all, including what others should be doing with their life, what they´re good at, what they should like.

The young omega feels his stomach contract, his breathing speed up. He clenches his teeth. He really, really wants to give that asshole a piece of his mind. Sometimes, he wishes he could be like Jaemin, who is fast at letting these things go. But he´s not like that, and he feels angry and powerless – he _hates_ it.

Then, a cool and sweet scent reaches his nose. Snowdrop. He turns to look at Mark, only to find the elder already looking at him with pleading eyes.

“Hyuck, it´s alright,” he says with a soothing voice. Donghyuck´s anger starts to fade away, but the resentment stays. “I´m used to it.”

“It´s really not alright, Hyung,” he replies, his tone more pained than angry. “And you shouldn´t have to be used to it. None of us should.”

Mark agrees with Donghyuck. No one should be used to being mistreated, and no one should be used to mistreating people and not getting a punishment. But it is the society they were born into. There´s nothing much they can do about it except not giving the abusers the satisfaction of seeing them suffer.

Mark thinks someone strong and different might be able to change the world. But that´s not him; he´s too weak on his own, too ordinary to make a difference. He can only try to stay safe. Mark would rather stay quiet to avoid confrontation – even if it hurts him – than try to fight back and find it meaningless.

“Better not to get in trouble,” the black-haired boy says. “It was nothing big, anyways.”

Donghyuck couldn´t disagree more. Small things, carried on constantly, day by day, end up being big things. And to change those things, those attitudes, those injustices, people need to act. To transform the world, you need to start transforming small things that might seem meaningless, but that are all connected to the root of the problem.

If an omega´s name against Unfairness becomes Silence, then an alpha´s name will inherently become Power.

And if Donghyuck has to scream to be heard, then he´ll make sure to be the loudest voice of them all.

Donghyuck wants to speak up and remind everyone that he has power and rights too. That he has feelings, thoughts and opinions, too. That he´s a person too. And he´s just as worthy as anybody else.

But everyone has to find their own way to resist and remain. Donghyuck is all about confrontation, and Mark says he isn´t. Donghyuck doesn't agree with Mark, but he can respect his wishes.

The younger omega takes a deep breath. The scent of snowdrop fills his lungs, helping him relax.

“Black is a better color. Period,” he says, attempting to return to their past conversation and lift the mood.

“Pink is a better color, it has many shades while black is only black,” Mark argues. Donghyuck likes it when Mark contradicts him. He likes the fact that the elder feels safe and comfortable enough around him to express himself. But Donghyuck is also competitive, and he can´t let Mark win this one.

“One, there are shades of black; matte black, lead black, ink black, raven back, oil black, metal black, coal black-“

“They all look the same!”

“People with superior intellect can clearly distinguish the different shades of black,” Hyuck states.

“Pfff, idiot,” Mark says with no real heat behind his words.

“Who are you calling idiot, dumbass? As I just stated, you are the idiot here, my dear Markles,” the younger sniggers, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “And your hair is black.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

_Your hair is black and Jaemin´s is pink; I like yours better_ , is what Donghyuck means. He doesn´t say that, though.

“It means, whatever you want it to mean,” Donghyuck answers with a pompous tone and grand hand gestures.

“What the fuck?” Mark asks, his head cocked to the side in confusion.

“That´s life, Hyung.”

Mark, used to the younger´s antics, only rolls his eyes. If the corners of his mouth are lifted because of Hyuck´s said antics, he´ll never admit it.

“Whatever,” Mark says with a dismissive hand gesture. He can´t let Hyuck know that he´s won.

“Don´t _whatever_ me, young man,” Hyuck mock-scolds him in the perfect old-lady manner.

“ _Whatever_ ,” Mark repeats with a little chuckle. “Come on, it´s time to close up.”

They pick up their things. Mark does whatever people do before leaving work for the day. He makes sure that the lights are off, and they head to the door together.

By the exit, they find an unpleasant surprise: the two alphas from earlier. And they are blocking the doors.

Donghyuck feels Mark fisting his hoodie, keeping him close to himself. He looks scared. The hand holding on to Donghyuck is shaking.

“The library is closing, you need to leave,” Donghyuck says. His voice is firm, leaving no place for arguments. If he´s being polite, it´s only for Mark´s sake.

“A pretty omega like you should not open his mouth in front of alphas, unless you want it to be filled with a big cock,” one of them says with a dark chuckle and a smug smirk. Mark is completely frozen in place.

“A disgusting alpha like you should not mess with an omega like me, unless you want your cock to be cut off from your body,” Donghyuck answers. “You better back off. A whole life seems like a long time to spend without your favorite body part – oh, wait, your brain doesn´t seem to work, so I guess your dick is your only functioning body part. It´d be sad if you lost it, right?”

The alpha scowls, releasing a deep growl from his throat. To his surprise, Donghyuck growls back – and it sounds as vicious as his words. Mark is sure that if push came to shove, Donghyuck would bite off the alpha´s dick if necessary.

“Let´s go, they´re not worth it,” the other alpha tells his friend. He growls in the omegas´ way one more time before leaving.

Donghyuck watches them go, making sure they won´t come back, or be waiting for them outside. Once he is sure that they are not in immediate danger anymore, he turns to Mark.

The older omega is still fisting his hoodie, as if he were afraid he´d leave. Hyuck would never.

“Are you okay, Mark?” he asks quietly. He grabs the arm that´s holding on to his hoodie and wraps it around himself, hugging Mark close to his body. He knows nothing happened, but it still looks like the elder is shook.

Mark takes a shaky breath, inhaling Hyuck´s warm scent of cinnamon. He puts his arms around the other boy properly, hugging him back. Even if Mark is not usually one for physical affection, he appreciates Hyuck trying to comfort him.

“Yeah,” he answers. His hands are still shaking, but his breathing is getting slower again. Donghyuck´s scent makes him feel a little safer. “I´m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” he asks, getting back just enough to look at the elder´s face.

“I froze, and you had to stand up for both of us,” Mark says, not looking at Hyuck in the eye. He is usually not sorry for letting his friends defend him, but it is mostly because he thinks they are in a position where they _can_ defend him. It´s different with Donghyuck; Donghyuck is in the exact same position as he is, and yet, he is so much braver and stronger. Mark doesn´t want to be a burden to him.

“That´s okay, I don´t mind,” Hyuck replies. He hesitates, “Just…why didn´t you even try?”

“I…my assortment of alpha friends is usually with me, and…they are the ones who fight back,” Mark says. If he´s telling this to Hyuck, he might as well say it all. “I am grateful that they protect me so much, but I wish they didn´t have to. I can´t go anywhere alone, and that makes me feel like I´m not really my own person, more like an extension to them. But I´m too weak to fight for myself.”

“You´re not weak,” Donghyuck instantly answers. “You might not have an alpha´s physique, but that doesn't mean you´re weak. You can be strong through other things.”

“Like what?”

“That depends completely on you,” he says with a small smile. “If it counts for something, I´m sure you have a fighter in you – you´re too determined not to – you just have to let him out.”

Mark smiles. Those are such Donghyuck things to say. He tries to lift up the mood with a joke.

“If I do that, will you still be my knight in shining armor, though?”

“Nah, I´ll be your mentor in the art of being a badass, till you build your own armor yourself,” Hyuck replies with a smile of his own. Mark is left breathless for a second.

Donghyuck is not proposing to protect him from the world, he´s promising to teach him how to protect himself. Donghyuck doesn't help him in a way that makes Mark depend on him. He helps Mark in a way in which Mark can get his own freedom.

Donghyuck is trying to tell him that he´s been his own person all along, he only needs to act on it. And Mark likes the idea. He´s scared of it, but he knows Donghyuck will be by his side and watch his back.

“I´d love that,” the black-haired omega answers with a dazzling smile.

Donghyuck walks Mark back to the place where Jeno is waiting for him.

“See you around, my number one student,” the younger says with a grin.

“See you, Hyuck,” he replies, smiling back so widely, his eyes crinkle.

***

They do see each other. Repeatedly. And now it´s not only at the library. As the semester advances, both of them get busier, so it´s little bit more difficult for Hyuck to spend his time away in the library. They still try to make it work; there´s endless texting and hanging out at their dorms with their friends.

It´s become sort of normal for them, so Donghyuck doesn´t know why he feels jittery when Mark asks him to hang out at his dorm.

He makes sure to dress nicely. He puts on skinny jeans and a white t-shirt with a plaited shirt over it. It´s kind of ridiculous, cause Mark has seen him drooling while he sleeps at the library. He doesn't know why, but he feels like he should do it.

“What did you dress up for?” Renjun asks.

“Felt like it,” is the answer he gives. Renjun looks at him like he doesn't believe it, but leaves him alone.

They walk to Mark´s and Jaemin´s dorm together.

As always, Jaemin greets them excitedly. To their surprise, Jeno, Chenle and Jisung are already there. Jaemin is busy making Jeno flustered. Chenle is in the little kitchen, cooking something for them. Jisung is trying to help him.

Donghyuck thinks it´s cute to see the younger alpha praising his beta friend for washing the vegetables correctly.

And Mark…Mark is Mark. He´s just quietly watching the chaos unfold and giggling. In Donghyuck´s eyes, that´s absolutely adorable. Plus, seeing him in a red hoodie, jeans and his cute black frames… it´s a sight that makes Hyuck smile.

“Hello, dumbass!” Donghyuck says with a huge smile on his face. Mark huffs, but he can´t hide the amusement in his eyes.

“Hi,” he replies. Donghyuck sits next to him in his bed. He wraps an arm around the elder´s shoulder.

“So, what are we doing today?”

“We could play videogames,” Mark suggests nonchalantly. Hyuck blinks.

“You don´t like videogames.”

“But you do,” the elder answers quietly. Donghyuck feels weirdly happy at that response. “And I don´t dislike videogames, I´m just not very good at them.”

“If by not really good you mean so bad that you make me wanna cry, then yes, for once you´re right,” Donghyuck teases him. Mark pushes him playfully, disentangling himself from Hyuck´s arm.

“Come on, Hyuck,” Mark says as he gets up from the bed. He ruffles the younger´s hair.

“But Renjun is so bossy when we´re in a kitchen,” Donghyuck whines, his lips in a cute pout.

“I´m not bossy, I´m your fucking boss!” Renjun yells. They are literally a couple of feet away, there´s no need for the yelling. Yet, Donghyuck yells back in an annoying tone.

“You are bossy! And short.”

“Hyuck, don´t be mean to Renjunnie unless you crave a violent death,” Jaemin chimes in, a fake-serious expression on his face.

“He won´t kill me here, it´d be too obvious he did it,” Donghyuck reasons. Mark rolls his eyes at the silly conversation. He´s known them for a couple of weeks, and he knows none of them would actually hurt each other.

“I´ll say you died out of the dumb bitch disease,” Renjun counter with a smirk.

“If that could happen, you´d been dead long ago, Hyung,” Jisung suddenly says, stunning them all into silence. Jaemin squeals and claps his hands in delight.

“My baby is a savage!! I´m so proud of you, Jisung!!” Then he smooches the youngest boy, who lets out an undignified screech at the action.

“I´m ending you,” Renjun says with a glare. Surprisingly, Chenle is the one to speak next.

“You can´t kill him, Hyung, he´s too cute to die,” he says, squeezing Jisung´s cheeks.

“Finally, someone who understands,” Jaemin adds with one of his huge, bright grins. “I´m adopting you too,” he says as he tackles the alpha into a hug.

“I think you could all audition for a soap opera,” Jeno cuts in. Mark sighs, attempting to hide the upward curve of his lips.

“Guys, could we sit down and eat?” the black-haired omega asks, massaging his temples in fake-stress. It takes a while longer, but everyone ends up following Mark´s lead.

Donghyuck finds that he feels more comfortable around Mark´s friends, even if they´re not in a public space. Chenle and Jeno are good people, and they´re fun to hang out with. Plus, Donghyuck´s friends seem to enjoy their company too. He´s definitely not as touchy with them as he is with everyone else, but that will probably come in time. He feels like he´s making an improvement, and that makes him happy.

Sometimes, even when he´s not with them, he finds himself thinking only bad things of alphas and stopping himself. He fights against stereotypes and prejudices, he doesn´t want to be the one getting people in those limiting categories, whether they´re omega, beta or alpha.

The weird thing is he´s starting to feel a little bit off around Mark himself. Like there´s some kind of tension between them, for some reason unknown to him. They are sitting beside each other, and Donghyuck feels like electricity flows through his veins every time his thigh touches Mark´s. Which is strange, because he´s never felt like that around anyone else. Also, when he tries to hug Mark and the elder pushes him away…it doesn't feel the same way it does when Renjun pushes him away. It´s ridiculous. Plus, his heart beats crazily when Mark smiles at him so big that his eyes crinkle. It´s…all very bizarre.

Donghyuck doesn't even want to think about it right now. He decides to ignore the weird mix of feelings Mark is giving him, and try to have fun with his friends instead.

The rest of the afternoon passes more or less the same way. The three chaotic omegas bicker, Mark laughs at everything Donghyuck says, Jeno tries not to smile but fails miserably, Jisung turns out to be good at everything except cooking, and Chenle proves to be a little devil.

It´s all okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, buuuuut Hendery was there!! And I count that as a win. I love that man, he´s so funny, sweet, hardworking and talented. Also, RenHyuck interactions!!   
> Anyways, back to the topic at hand, I hope you liked this!!
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


	4. The proof it´s real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tension, that´s about it. 
> 
> (Only Mark Lee could explain it further if you know what I mean, but I don´t have his poetic ways, sorry).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very brief moment of Mark panicking.  
> PLS READ THIS: I didn´t tag internalized homophobia bc I don´t really know if I can portray it appropriately, and I don´t want to belittle anyone´s experiences. However, some of the things Mark thinks could be compared to internalized homophobia – mixed with denial. Just, please remember this is a work of fiction and the events and how the characters are developed don´t necessarily reflect real life stuff – life isn´t that easy for many ppl. 
> 
> That´s all, I hope you enjoy!

Everything is not okay. It´s exam season and Mark is panicking.

This never happens to him. Usually he´s confident in his results in school; he´s good at studying, and he spends a lot of time and effort doing it. He doesn´t know why he feels like there´s a tight, burning knot in his stomach, pulling at him, threatening to break him.

Maybe it´s accumulated stress, maybe it´s nothing. Whatever reason it is for, Mark knows he´s going to cry. 

He doesn´t want to be alone. He doesn´t want his friends to see him like this, though. The only person who would comfort him without questions would be Donghyuck – the only person Mark _wants_ to comfort him is Donghyuck.

He texts him to come to the library as fast as he can. Then, Mark goes to hide to their special corner, where he knows the younger will find him.

Mark doesn’t know how much time passed since that, until he sees the younger boy approaching him with a worried look on his face.

Donghyuck hurries over to Mark. The elder looks like he´s barely holding on: the corners of his pretty eyes are red-rimmed and his jaw is clenched. His heart twists uncomfortably at the sight. Donghyuck kneels by him. He knows Mark is not a fan of skinship, but Hyuck can´t think of another way to reassure him.

To his surprise, Mark dives straight into his open arms and lets out a sob. The black-haired boy presses his nose against Hyuck´s neck, taking in his warm cinnamon scent. Donghyuck´s hand comes up to card his fingers through the elder´s soft locks. His other arm is wrapped up around him, keeping him close, making him feel safe. Mark clings to him, fisting Donghyuck´s sweatshirt.

Donghyuck lets Mark cry it all out. He feels his sweatshirt getting wet by the tears, but he couldn´t care less. All he wants is for Mark to be happy again. He whispers sweet nothings into his ear, comforting him in every way he knows.

Mark eventually calms down. The knot on his chest starts loosening up, and he feels more at ease the more he breathes in the younger omega´s scent. He draws back, but stays seated. Donghyuck sits beside him, patiently waiting for him. They´re only touching through their shoulders, as Donghyuck knows too much hugging could probably overwhelm the older omega.

Donghyuck, unfailingly aware of his surroundings, sees an alpha and a beta from the corner of his eye. He can´t help listening to what they´re saying.

_“You think they´re together?”_

_“That´d be a shame, they´re both bang-worthy,” the other guy answers. “Two omegas in a real relationship is impossible, they´re just friends, they can´t have sex without an alpha.”_

_“It´d be hot to watch two omegas, though. And you can join them after.”_

The men chuckle, but leave soon afterwards. Donghyuck would probably get angry at their words later, however, right now, he needs to focus on Mark. Those men are not a threat anymore, he can stop thinking about them. Donghyuck turns to Mark.

“Are you feeling better?” Donghyuck asks him with furrowed eyebrows.

“I´m alright now,” Mark nods. He brings his hand to Hyuck´s face and touches the little crease between his brows to make him stop frowning. “Don´t worry, I´m okay. Thanks for coming, Hyuck.”

“I´m always here for you, Canada,” the younger answers with a small smile. Mark smiles back – even if it is not as bright as it normally is, Donghyuck is glad that Mark feels better enough to smile. “Wanna talk about it?”

“No,” he answers immediately. “I don´t really know what came over me, maybe I´m just tired.”

Donghyuck presses his pink lips into a thin line. He doesn't like the idea of Mark overworking himself. After a moment of deliberation, he speaks again.

“C´mon,” he says as he stands up. He offers a hand for Mark to take. Surprisingly, the elder does take it. His hand feels warm in Donghyuck´s.

“Where are we going?” Mark asks, confused, but not resisting when Donghyuck starts walking.

“We´re eating and taking a nap,” he says. He quickly adds: “It´s not up for discussion.”

Mark is about to protest, but a wave of fondness crashes over him. Donghyuck is always taking care of him, however necessary. He always makes Mark feel better. He can´t help with his problems every time, but he makes the elder feel understood, listened to, cared for. The corners of Mark´s lips tilt up. He likes the way Hyuck supports him without making him feel like a burden.

He lets Donghyuck lead the way. They hold hands until they reach their destination.

They end up holed up in Mark´s dorm. Jaemin is in class, so it´s fairly calm.

Donghyuck tells Mark to wash his face while he looks for something to eat. He searches in the fridge and finds the right ingredients to prepare something fast and delicious for his friend.

Mark joins him in the kitchen soon after. Of course, the older omega doesn't help with the cooking – he sucks at it, and Hyuck is trying to pamper him a little.

Donghyuck cooking for him, makes Mark´s heart warm up in a way he´s never felt before. He catalogues the feeling as extreme fondness and gratefulness to the younger.

They sit down to eat at the small table.

“Ugh, I feel like I just crawled out of satan´s ass,” Mark suddenly says, leaving his glasses on the table and rubbing at his eyes with his fists. Donghyuck chuckles. “I can´t feel my eyeballs.”

“You don´t look so bad to me, maybe a little swollen,” he jokes. Mark lightly smacks the younger´s arm.

“I seriously don´t know what happened.”

“Everyone´s got different shit stored in their head,” Hyuck replies with a shrug of his shoulders. “You don´t need to know, as long as you feel fine.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he answers confidently. “Everyone´s got their own weird problems they need to deal with. Like me, my face is so pretty, I can´t help but look into a mirror every time I see one,” he says smugly, with a wink and everything. Mark bursts out in a fit of giggles.

“You´re ridiculous,” Mark says with a roll of his eyes.

“I´m in need of a beauty nap, wanna join?” Donghyuck replies, not moved in the least by Mark´s words. Mark´s lips curl up in a pretty smile.

“Okay.”

They end up cuddled in Mark´s small bed. That´s when it hits Donghyuck, that maybe this wasn´t his best idea. One single bed is too small for two fully grown men. But well, nothing to do now except for moving up to the wall and try not to crush each other.

Strangely, Mark doesn´t push the younger away. Instead, he clings on to Donghyuck. As he said before, Mark is usually not one for skinship. Since he seems to need a little bit of physical reassurance, though, Hyuck is happy to comply. One of his arms is encasing Mark´s waist, and their legs are entangled. Donghyuck ends up with his head resting on Mark´s chest, and Mark´s own head buried in his silver hair.

Mark falls asleep pretty quickly. He feels safe wrapped up in the sweet scent of cinnamon. He feels protected against Hyuck´s warm skin. With a full belly and Hyuck´s cuddling, he lets his tired eyes fall closed.

Donghyuck, however, cannot fall asleep so easily. One of the reasons why he´s still awake is because he´s still a bit worried; he wants to be awake in case Mark needs anything. But there is also something else bugging him. Those men´s words, back in the library – he doesn't know how to feel about them.

_Two omegas in a real relationship is impossible._

Donghyuck doesn't know why, but the statement doesn't sit well with him. Well, maybe he knows a little bit of why. First off, he´s angry about those men thinking that omegas can´t do anything on their own. Then, he´s infuriated that they only ever talked about them like objects made for their purposes, their pleasure, their enjoyment – they never talked about them like persons. Lastly, the assumption that everything – from roles to relationships to likes and dislikes – should be ruled over by one´s subgender exasperates Donghyuck to no end (he´s been trying to end his misperceptions regarding this on alphas, too).

Now that he thinks about it, he´s not against people from the same subgender being in a romantic relationship. Sure, it´s not conventional, or at least he hasn´t personally see it happen. But the idea sounds alright to him. It´s still people. Two (or maybe more) persons being in a relationship because they feel something deeper than friendship for each other sounds romantic to Donghyuck, no matter the subgender (or sex) of said persons.

Donghyuck gasps quietly. He stays still for a second, trying to see if the elder was awoken by the sudden movement. Mark´s breathing is still as even as it was before. What a relief.

If he _really_ puts some thought to it, he was also bothered for being told that Mark and him cannot be something more than friends. 

The realization doesn´t come to him like a brick to the face or an unexpected hit, it comes to him like the last missing piece of a puzzle that he´s been needing for a while now.

Donghyuck´s always known that Mark is someone special to him, in a different way that his friends are. He´d just never realized it´d be this way. But, unconsciously, it has always been there, brewing in his mind and heart without him noticing. Donghyuck likes Mark. Donghyuck likes Mark as more than a friend. Donghyuck likes Mark romantically.

Well, shit.

It makes perfect sense. Mark is attractive, cute and his smile is the prettiest thing Donghyuck has ever seen. He is smart, awkward and kind to a fault. He is a little shy and reserved, and a lot determined and hardworking. He doesn't always understand Donghyuck, but he always tries to. Even then, he has an unusual way of getting him. Mark is that one person who can get Hyuck out of his head and turn things around. Mark is a dork and a genius all in one.

Donghyuck likes Mark. Mark and his silly giggles and his black frames and his messy hair. Donghyuck likes all about him.

And Mark is an omega. But if he´s being honest about it, it´s not even about Mark being an omega. Sure, it´d be more difficult for Donghyuck to form a connection like the one he has with Mark if Mark had been an alpha. But it´d be more difficult for Donghyuck to form a connection like the one he has with Mark if Mark had been any other omega, too. His subgender makes no difference to Hyuck, cause it´s only one more the elder´s particulars – like the color of his hair, or the shape of his eyes. It´s only one more thing about Mark, not everything about him.

Donghyuck knows for sure now, he wants to date Mark. The question that follows is: will Mark want to date Donghyuck? Will Mark want to date an omega at all?

***

Donghyuck figures that the only way to know if Mark would ever date him is asking – be it implicitly or explicitly. Hyuck thinks flirting is a pretty good way to ask without outing himself. So, that´s what he does.

Whenever they hang out, Hyuck flirts with Mark to see his reaction. He´s found that skinship is not the way to go about it. But that´s more cause Mark doesn't like it in general, from anyone. Of course, Donghyuck still clings to Mark from time to time, just to annoy him a little bit.

Everyone on the internet told him to do little things for Mark. But Donghyuck already does, and Mark has always done little things for him too; that´s how they became friends. And they also spend a lot of one-on-one time together. Those are just things inherent to their friendship. It´s different from Donghyuck´s other friendships, but it´s the basis of _theirs_.

So, Hyuck sticks more to talking. He doesn’t need to do much; Mark is easily flustered – he´s also easily embarrassed. But Donghyuck doesn´t want to annoy him too much or make him uncomfortable. So, he only says things like “You look cute today, Canada,” or “I like your singing voice,” and Mark blushes at every one of his compliments. He´s a little bit worried that Mark won´t be able to figure out his flirt-to-roast ratio, but well, the comments about how much Donghyuck likes the elder´s smile should be enough to tip him off in the right direction, right?

The thing is, Mark never does anything other than blush, or sometimes smack Donghyuck´s arm. He says thank you at most. It´s been difficult for Hyuck to decipher the meaning of Mark´s reactions.

Right now, they are having dinner at a cheap hamburger place. Yes, all twenty-one of them. Most of the younger boys had already met through Mark and Donghyuck, and now they all wanted the Hyungs to meet.

It is a little bit awkward at times. They´re too many people. And, as Donghyuck, they´re all wary of alphas. But apparently some of them already know each other from class or something. Actually, Donghyuck had no idea that Doyoung and Taeyong had an embarrassing-soccer-mom kind of rivalry. Taeyong had also been Ten´s dance partner at some point, so he was friends with Johnny and Jaehyun (who, according to Ten, has an “artistic” crush on TY). And Kun had also adopted Yukhei and Sicheng before, because he said his Chinese mom instincts had told him to. Taeil knew Johnny from an old club.

Oh, and apparently Taeyong has adopted two more kids in the last few months: Sungchan and Shotaro are the new additions to their little (23 reads: huge) family.

The world is small.

Back to the point: they´re all having dinner and Donghyuck is discreetly flirting with Mark. He sits beside the elder. Mark looks great tonight. Jaemin probably helped him choose his outfit. He´s wearing a navy-blue button-up and his frames. And the pretty mole on his cheek and his pretty brown eyes and his pretty pink lips…all of it is too much for Donghyuck´s weak heart. He´s busy staring at the black-haired omega, when he turns to him.

“Everything okay, Hyuck? You´re…staring…” Mark asks him, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy. Donghyuck feels his ears getting hot.

“Yup. This was bothering me,” he says as he pushes Mark´s frames back on his nose with his forefinger. Mark blinks owlishly. “Cause I couldn´t properly _boop_ your little nose,” he finishes, obviously, booping the elder´s nose.

“Hyuck!” Mark screeches, slapping Donghyuck´s hand away. The pink hue to his cheeks is evident. Donghyuck chuckles. Mark pretends to be annoyed, but the up-tilted corners of his mouth betray him.

“You´re the cutest, Hyung,” Donghyuck singsongs, lightly pinching the elder´s cheek. Mark huffs and scrunches his nose cutely, but lets him have his fun. Donghyuck beams, his heart racing in his chest.

“Hyuck, tell them the story of the band you had in high school,” Taeil suddenly says, already laughing even if Donghyuck hasn´t opened his mouth.

Of course, Donghyuck directly launches into the story of his adventures as a high-schooler. Don´t worry, he makes sure not to mention his emo, angsty teen phase.

Mark listens with a small smile on his face.

He makes sure to pay attention to every single word coming out of Donghyuck´s lips. Whenever Hyuck tells a story, it´s like Mark gets in a trance. He can´t help it. Hyuck is…enrapturing; he´s so bright, Mark can´t take his eyes off him.

The older omega likes watching Donghyuck interact with people. He likes seeing Donghyuck out-sass people, and make everyone laugh. He thinks the younger omega is admirable, brave, playful and witty.

Chenle tells him he´s whipped. Mark always answers that Hyuck is just a very special friend. Chenle doesn't believe his shit. Mark just flicks him off, and tries not to think about it. 

However, it´s difficult not to think about it, especially when Hyuck gets so _close_ to people when he´s talking. Mark gets a little bit…conflicted when he sees Donghyuck close to alphas or betas – not in the way Donghyuck gets worried for omegas´ safety, Mark knows that the younger is safe with their friends. He just gets…he doesn´t really know how to say it. He just wants to be a special friend to Donghyuck too. He knows Hyuck is touchy with everyone, but it still feels _strange_.

And every single time Mark does think about it, he ends up bringing himself back to the only plausible conclusion: Donghyuck _is_ a very special _friend_ to him.

No matter what Chenle claims to see between them, there is no way an omega could be in a relationship with another. That´s not natural. At school they´ve always taught them of alpha-omega relationships, and betas could be with anyone they wanted. That´s what model families looked like in school books, what they looked like in movies. No alpha-alpha, no omega-omega.

Plus, Mark has never seen an omega couple. That has two possible meanings in Mark´s brain. The first one is that omega couples don’t exist, because normal omegas don´t feel attraction to other omegas; Mark is the deviant one here. The other possibility is omega couples existing but never working out, because attraction to the same subgender is feasible (like with betas) but remaining as a same-subgender couple as an omega is practically impossible; they´re not destined to be successful, it´s not natural.

(Or maybe it only means an omega couple is not conventional. What´s in the norm is not necessarily good, just what is the most usual. What is out of the norm is not necessarily bad, just what is less common – or what society makes us think as less common. That´s a third prospect Mark doesn´t really allow himself to think about).

Mark always tells himself that he´s okay, that he´s normal. He´s only confusing Hyuck´s friendship with something else because he hasn´t been in a relationship for a while and is affection-starved. That´s it. Donghyuck is _only_ a special friend to him.

Mark shakes his head, trying to get rid of these thoughts. It´s not time to think about that.

***

The whole dinner affair went better than expected. They will probably end up creating a huge chat to keep in contact, and see each other around campus or something.

Donghyuck says goodnight to Mark, and makes sure that Jeno will walk Jaemin and him back safely. All of his friends are already going back to their respective dorms or apartments, but Donghyuck stays for a little bit longer to talk to Taeil.

“How has my favorite troublemaker been doing?” the beta asks with one of his huge smiles. Donghyuck clings on to his arm and speaks in an annoyingly cute voice.

“I´ve been missing you, Hyung. You don´t pay attention to me _anymore_ ,” he says with a pout. Taeil ruffles his hair.

“You seem to be occupied with another person,” he replies with a knowing chuckle. Donghyuck´s cheeks heat up, his eyes opening as wide as plates. Then, he looks down bashfully.

“Am I that obvious?”

“To me, you are. To others…maybe not so much,” Taeil answers.

“I don´t know what to do, Hyung,” Donghyuck sighs. “Do you think it´s weird?” he asks. He doesn't have to elaborate for Taeil to know what he means: _do you think liking someone with the same subgender as me is weird?_

Donghyuck had already come to a resolve himself about that question. He likes to think that what other people tell him won´t matter to him, but he has doubts and insecurities sometimes, too. He would really like if someone he cares about would support him.

“No,” Taeil answers truthfully. “It´s no one’s business but your own, anyway,” he shrugs. “My personal opinion is that finding a body to be attracted to is easy, finding a _person_ to be attracted to can be a bit more complicated. Giving up on said person because of something nature decided for both of you…it´s not really my cup of tea.”

“Great minds think alike,” Hyuck says, happy that his Hyung´s opinion is in accord with his own. He feels relieved, and a little steadier on where he stands. He hugs Taeil, picking him up and spinning him around. The older boy laughs at him, but lets him have his way, as always.

“But you do have to understand that not everyone thinks like this, and you have to respect that,” the beta adds. Donghyuck presses his lips into a thin line and nods. Taeil is the person who taught him about how important respect is, how it should be a basis of every relationship. Taeil also taught him that respect is a two-way street, and if he´s not being treated with respect, he´s allowed to be a little mean in self-defense. Best Hyung ever.

“I know.”

“You like him a lot, huh?”

“He´s unlike anyone I´ve ever met,” Hyuck says, a small, fond smile comes to his lips. Just thinking about Mark makes his heart flutter. “He´s awkward and very nice. He´s so selfless, too, and a huge nerd. And when he finds something he´s passionate about, he never gives up. I think that´s one of my favorite things about him, he works so hard and is so, so stubborn – and humble about it too.”

“That´s good to hear, kid,” Taeil replies, his lips curled up.

“You sound like a grandpa,” Donghyuck huffs, affection clear in his eyes.

“You sound like a brat.”

“I´m your favorite brat,” he replies, fluttering his eyelashes at the older boy. Taeil laughs it off.

They talk for a while longer, catching up on both of their lives. Then, the beta walks Donghyuck to his dorm. Donghyuck goes to sleep with a calm mind.

***

For the next couple of days, Donghyuck wakes up with a calm mind too. However, that is soon disrupted by Renjun´s news.

“You´re going on a _what_ now?” Hyuck asks, going into a stress/panic/frustration fit.

“An inspiring fieldtrip, for a week,” Renjun replies, passing a hand through his hair in frustration. “You didn´t write down the next time for your heat in our calendar, how was I supposed to know?”

“I know, I´m an idiot, I´m sorry,” Donghyuck answers. He knows this is not Renjun´s fault. He also knows that Renjun already did all the arrangements for his trip, and that this heat is Donghyuck´s responsibility – it shouldn´t stop Renjun from going on with his life.

“Hey, hey,” the older omega says. He pats Hyuck´s back, comforting him in a Renjun way. “We can still figure this out.”

“Jaemin has his seminary thing during those days, and I don´t think I´m close enough to Kun Hyung for something like this,” Donghyuck says. He too, is pulling at his hair.

“What about Mark?” the shorter boy asks. “You only need to have someone ready in _case_ you need help, it´s only a backup. Maybe it won´t even be necessary.”

Of course, Renjun isn’t on in Donghyuck´s current internal situation regarding Mark. The problem is that doing this thing with a friend and doing it with a boy he likes are two completely different things. Fuck.

Donghyuck ends up asking Mark, though, cause he´s the only other option. He feels guilty about it – he knows this is out of Mark´s usual depth. But there really is no other choice. If he´s lucky, maybe this heat won´t be that bad, and he won´t even need help, and he´ll be worrying about nothing.

It´s okay, he can do this.

***

The next day, Donghyuck meets up with Mark in his dorm. For both of their sakes, he goes straight to the point.

“I´m having my heat next week,” the younger omega blurts out.

“Okay…?” Mark is confused, and a little bit embarrassed talking about this kind of thing.

“So, sometimes it gets really painful, so Renjun or Jaemin help me out,” Donghyuck continues.

A strange, ugly feeling curls inside Mark´s chest: he doesn´t like the idea of other omegas seeing Hyuck in his heat, when he´s- No, Mark has no business thinking this way: Donghyuck is only a friend, and omegas sometimes help with each other´s heats. It´s normal, and it means nothing.

“You´re telling me this because…”

“They are both busy during those days,” Hyuck says with a defeated sigh. He feels so guilty asking this of Mark – like he´s forcing his feelings on the older boy. That´s not what he wants. “It might not even happen, I could handle it on my own by the end. But…If I need help and give you a call…will you come?”

Mark takes in a sharp breath. He´s never helped another omega in heat. Usually, he´d say no. However, it´s Hyuck who´s asking, and Mark would do almost anything if it´s Hyuck asking. He´s a man with one huge soft spot.

“Of course,” he answers with a small smile (he hopes that it looks reassuring). Then, to remind himself, he says: “That’s what friends are for.”

“Great,” Donghyuck answers, trying to hide the sting on his heart behind a smile. He´s grateful to Mark for doing this, even if it´s not in the circumstances he´d like. “There are some ground rules I always follow.”

Donghyuck starts explaining to Mark everything. He shuts off his heart for a moment and tries to stay rational enough to make sure Mark understands that he´s not forcing him to do anything he doesn't want to.

Donghyuck tells him that he should make sure he eats something and drinks some water while he´s there. He also tells him the rules for the… touching. No kissing or hickeys allowed anywhere; no blowjobs or eating him out or anything that involves a mouth on a body. Also, no dicking allowed under any circumstances, even if he begs for it. Only fingers are permitted, and maybe penetration with a dildo if required. _Never_ _ever_ , get on top of Donghyuck, he hates it. And, of course, Mark doesn't have to do anything he´s uncomfortable with, it´s not like Donghyuck´s gonna die if he doesn't get release – he´s probably gonna cry, though (welp). Mark assures Donghyuck that he´ll be okay.

It´s all a tiny bit awkward. Donghyuck has never been shy with this kind of thing, but there is something about Mark that makes it feel like it´s more than just the usual stuff. Mark´s questions are not ones of a business-like transaction between friends; he asks what Donghyuck likes and dislikes – not only sexual, also about food during heat, and showering habits… It makes it feel like something _intimate_ will happen.

Donghyuck tries with all of his might to remind himself that this means nothing. He also tries not to drown in guilt and shame. He doesn't want to _think_ about it any longer.

If Mark wishes that Donghyuck would call him during his heat, no one should know. He tries not to think about it, either.

If only they knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All nct members mentioned!!! And Taeil being Donghyuck´s fave Hyung! Whoop whoop whoop whoop  
> (And, yeah, Hyuck´s heat sorry not sorry about the cliffhanger).
> 
> Hope that you enjoyed this!! Next chapter in a couple of days.
> 
> On other news: Stream One!! They worked super hard on this and it shows! Let´s show them how mich we appreciate all their effort and endless content!
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


	5. The inflection point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck´s heat brings raw feelings, complex thoughts, and big changes to the surface. It´s only a matter of deciding if they´ll keep ignoring it all or face themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahead (or something like it idk). Enjoy, ig haha

Donghyuck feels feverish. Not unbearably so, but it´s still pretty uncomfortable. His skin feels sweaty, slick is dripping down between his legs and making him all _sticky_. He wants to scream, cry, sleep, eat like a pig, throw up and go back to sleep – in that order. He´s nauseous, tired and in pain.

Whoever said they thought omegas were fortunate for having the gift of creating a life obviously wasn´t an omega, cause this is hell.

Luckily, he made sure to eat and shower before the shit-show started. Now, he only has to take some painkillers and try to sleep before it gets too much. And, at least he´s not at the horny stage of this whole thing yet.

He really hopes he won´t have to call Mark.

If Donghyuck is being honest, he wishes he never had to ask any of his friends to help him with his heat. He knows they don´t mind and that they understand, but he still feels like he´s being just another confining responsibility to them. He doesn´t want to drop this burden on Mark too. Plus, he hates being vulnerable, and is a little bit ashamed of it.

Most of the times he hates his body for doing this to him, for making him an omega. He hates feeling powerless against his biology – he´d rather be angry. He´s come to accept his reality, sure. But that doesn't keep him from thinking that, if he´d had the choice, he would´ve rather been a beta.

Well, there´s nothing to do about it. And if the pain comes to that, Donghyuck will have to swallow the shame and ask for help.

He can only hope his body will help him out this one time.

***

His body does not help him one bit. He hates his uterus, and his uterus hates him. Fuck.

He manages to resist for a couple of hours through the second day. He tries using a vibrator he´d bought for this exact purpose, but it´s not enough. One, he can´t reach a satisfying angle into himself. Two, Donghyuck´s wolf is craving for company – his body is demanding for someone to take care of him, however possible. Making him feel horrible physically _and_ emotionally is his wolf´s way of forcing him to ask for help, for companionship, for a knot.

He calls Mark only when he feels like the pain is so big, so deep, so consuming, that he can´t feel anything but that – not even the shame.

Donghyuck doesn´t know how long it takes the black-haired omega to get to this room. He´d given him the keys so that he could let himself in and Hyuck wouldn´t have to get up from the bed. Actually, he doesn't even notice when the older boy comes in.

On the other hand, Mark could _feel_ Donghyuck´s presence – and desperation – from the other side of the door. A strong wave of deliciously warm cinnamon hits him the moment he steps into the room. He can see Donghyuck lying on the bed from where he´s standing. The younger seems to be trying to jerk off urgently, and not getting what he wants. His silver hair is tousled, some of it is plastered to his forehead with sweat. His eyes are half-lidded and glazed over with want. His lips are red and swollen from all the biting he´s done to keep his noises down. His tanned chest is flushed, going up and down with his agitated breaths. His back is arched back in pleasure. His hand is on his hard length, stroking it furiously, quickly.

To Mark, it feels like a hot coal was dropped in his stomach.

“Hyuck,” he gasps. Donghyuck´s eyes fall on him. The faint scent of snowdrop coming from Mark clears his head a little.

“Mark,” he whines. A sound coming from his throat makes Mark advance towards him.

“What do you want me to do?” he asks with a low voice, trying to stay focused on the younger´s eyes.

“Inside, inside, inside. C´mon, I just want to- I can´t take it anymore,” Donghyuck´s broken sentences come spilling out of his mouth without his permission. Mark nods, nevertheless. He knows what he should do. 

He sees Donghyuck´s vibrator on the bed, next to him. Mark´s hands circle around the younger´s ankles, and he pulls, bringing the omega´s knees to the edge of the bed. Donghyuck lets out a surprised squeak at the sudden motion.

Mark takes the toy and kneels on the floor, between Donghyuck´s open legs. If Hyuck was in the right state of mind, he´d feel nervous and ashamed for making Mark do this. But he is not in the right state of mind, and he can only think of the pain, the arousal, the _need_.

Contrastingly, Mark is perfectly conscious of each one of his actions. He is somewhat anxious; Donghyuck had told him he could do whatever he liked doing to himself, but Mark´s past relationships never had much focus on him, and he´d never really taken time to experiment alone. He guesses he´ll have to wing it, see what Donghyuck likes.

He won´t admit it – he´s too scared to do so – but he´s also excited. Seeing Donghyuck like this has taken his mind into overdrive. The suspicious feeling in his lower abdomen is proof of that.

A loud whine takes Mark out of his head. He takes a deep breath in order to calm down – the strong, _wet_ cinnamon scent he finds doesn´t calm him, but it does motivate him to swallow all his fears and _touch_. His hands roam Donghyuck´s bronze thighs, squeezing every once in a while. The younger omega is so sensitive, that those simple touches have slick gushing out of him, and coating the air with his mouthwatering scent.

Mark touches Donghyuck softly at first, exploring the lower part of his body in awe. He soon is rushed to start doing other things when Donghyuck whines and begs, though.

Donghyuck hole is already open and ready after almost two days of heat. Mark sees it clenching over nothing desperately. He complies with Donghyuck´s pleadings. Mark slowly gets the toy inside him. He pushes it in and out, trying at different angles until he finds what he´s looking for. And by the loud moan Hyuck lets out when he does so, Mark is being successful in his search.

Mark fucks Donghyuck with the toy hard and fast, stroking against his walls and hitting that special bundle of nerves inside him with every deep thrust. Donghyuck writhes before him, letting out such beautiful, broken sounds, that make Mark´s gut tighten, his heartbeat pound in his ears.

Donghyuck stops feeling like it´s pain swallowing him up. Cause all he can feel is the pleasure Mark is giving him.

The older omega stays between the younger´s bronze legs until his own knees feel like they´re bruising up. He doesn´t mind if it means bringing Hyuck to the edge. And Donghyuck comes and comes and comes until his body is satisfied and can´t handle to do it one more time.

If Mark himself almost came in his pants, completely untouched, no one needs to know.

“Wanna sleep,” Donghyuck murmurs, his voice soar from moaning so much. His eyelids are already falling closed.

“When was the last time you ate?” Mark questions as he stands up, pretending to get the dust off his knees to avoid looking at a wrecked Donghyuck. The silver-haired boy lightly shakes his head.

“Yesterday…?”

“I´ll give you food, then we clean up, and then you can sleep,” Mark states with finality. Donghyuck whines.

“Don´t wanna,” he pouts. Mark is tempted to let him do what he wants – like he always does – but he´s here to take care of Donghyuck. He heads to the kitchen, takes a protein bar and a bottle of water, and comes back to Hyuck´s side. He sits on the bed.

“Come on, Hyuck,” he says, bringing the protein bar to the younger´s red lips. He´s momentarily distracted by how much he wants to kiss them. “Eat for me, will you?” as soon as the words leave his mouth, Donghyuck starts taking small bites of the food. He eats and drinks what Mark gives him. Mark smiles a little bit.

Mark knows Donghyuck is tired. He really doesn´t want to force him to stand under the shower, but he needs to clean up. He takes a moment for himself in the bathroom, cleaning the mess in his own pants before Hyuck can realize what happened. He prioritizes taking care of Donghyuck over worrying for his own feelings right now.

He takes some wet towels from the bathroom. He brings them back and gently starts wiping Hyuck´s sensitive skin with them. First, he makes sure to get all the cum off. Then, he cleans the boy´s chest and face, taking off the sticky layer of sweat and bringing a cool sensation to refresh his heated body.

Donghyuck silently stares at him through his sleep-glazed eyes as he does so.

Donghyuck doesn´t think anyone has ever treated him the way Mark does. When Renjun and Jaemin help him out, they do everything they´re supposed to – from feeding, to cleaning, to pleasuring – but it still seems like something friends would do. They treat him in the same way they always do; carefully, with a little edge of friendly roughness. They treat him like the unbreakable Lee Donghyuck they see before them.

Mark instead, treats him so…softly, like he´s someone delicate, to take care of. Not like he´s a small piece of porcelain, waiting to shatter into a million pieces at any moment. More like he´s…a real person; hard edges and soft insides, strong mind and breakable heart, protector of others and in need of protection for himself.

The way Mark treats him doesn't feel friendly at all. But the fact that he´s following all of Donghyuck´s heat rules reminds him that it´s all it is. Mark is not here cause he has feelings for Donghyuck, he´s here cause he wants to help a friend out.

Donghyuck´s terrified of having someone knowing him so deeply and vulnerably – he´s also glad that said someone is Mark, even if he knows he shouldn´t.

The younger omega is too worn out to think about the shame, the guilt, the yearning brewing inside of him.

“Let´s sleep,” Donghyuck says, breaking the silence. He pats the side of his bed, where (miraculously) there´s no trace of slick or sweat. Mark takes the towels back to the bathroom, and comes back to lay down next to him. Their shoulders touch, nothing else.

There is a weird tension in the air. Their thoughts are so loud and their mouths so quiet.

Both of them enjoy the other´s scent. None of them wishes to think about it any longer. They fall asleep.

***

Donghyuck wakes up drenched in sweat. Again. The sharp, unignorable pain in his stomach is what woke him. He feels the sting of tears in his eyes. He takes in a shaky breath, trying to control the pain. He is hit with the sweet, fresh scent of snowdrop. He opens his eyes. By the light entering the dorm, it must be midday, at least. Oh, and Mark is asleep next to him.

Donghyuck thinks the older boy looks really pretty and peaceful like this. He took his glasses off before going to sleep, and that allows Hyuck to appreciate more fully his pretty face. He likes the sight. He would keep staring all day long if not for the fact that staring at people in their sleep is creepy and that the pain in his gut makes it hard to breath.

He doesn't say a word – doesn´t want to. However, he knows he needs help, and that´s the reason why Mark´s here, after all. He taps the older omega´s shoulder, even if he´s a little reluctant. Surprisingly, Mark opens his eyes quickly. He rubs the sleep off them with the back of his fist.

“Are you okay?” he asks in a gruffy voice. Donghyuck wishes the deep sound of it didn´t make him feel so aroused. He lets out a strangled noise that tells Mark exactly the state he´s in.

Even if he already knows it, Mark looks down. The blanket Donghyuck had put around his body is soaked in slick, all pooling around the younger´s hips.

“Please.”

“Can I try something?” Mark says. He doesn´t know what he´s thinking. He doesn't want to think, and he doesn't want to know either. He doesn't want to break down when Hyuck needs him. All he can do is act.

Donghyuck nods, a bit hesitant. Mark slides the blanket off the younger´s shoulders, until his tanned body is bare and in sight. His eyes rake Donghyuck, up and down, the sleepiness in them clearing away and being replaced by something darker. Donghyuck shrinks under his gaze.

“Mark,” he murmurs. He feels awfully vulnerable, with Mark looking at his naked body like that, especially when the elder is practically fully dressed. He´s not sure how he feels about Mark´s gaze, but he doesn´t want to be vulnerable – it´s too risky, too shameful. Until Mark turns on his side, wholly facing Donghyuck, and gently takes his face between his hands.

“I´m not going to hurt you, Hyuck,” he says, as though he could hear the younger´s thoughts. “I will take care of you, and make sure you´re not in pain anymore.” Looking into his brown, soft eyes, Donghyuck believes every word coming out of the older omega´s mouth. “Do you trust me?” And Donghyuck nods.

Mark gets even closer to him, their chests almost flushed together. Mark places Donghyuck´s head against his neck, where Hyuck can drown in his sweet, rich scent. One of his hands takes to Donghyuck´s throbbing dick into a tight fist, making the younger moan. His other hand slithers around his waist, and travels down his backside, until he reaches Donghyuck´s hole.

Mark starts jerking him off slowly, firmly, tenderly. Donghyuck gasps, inhaling the elder´s scent – and the inviting note of arousal in it. Mark thumbs at the slit, and then goes around the head with all the precum he´s gathered. In the meanwhile, his other hand circles Donghyuck´s hole, playing with the wetness but never quite reaching inside him. The younger´s response is a broken moan, that sounds a lot like a plea.

Donghyuck wants to be crushed by Mark´s tenderness. He aches for him, deeply, ardently, surely. He wants to taste and feel and be consumed by this – by Mark, and his sweet scent, and his gentle fingers. He wants it all.

Donghyuck brings a hand to Mark´s shirt, fisting it. He pulls them closer still, burying his nose into the older omega´s scent, until snowdrop is all around him. All he can perceive, smell and feel. His hips buck into Mark´s hand. The pain is long gone, and has been replaced with lust and the need for release.

“ _Mark Hyung_.”

The elder´s finger slips inside him with no resistance. He probes at his hole, at first slowly. When it feels like Hyuck is ready for another one, Mark gives it to him. His fingers go around, grazing Donghyuck´s walls, scissoring him open. A third, longer finger comes in soon after. Mark plunges his fingers in and out, slow and hard. With every one of his strokes, Hyuck loses his mind.

Donghyuck´s existence is reduced to the feeling of Mark´s fingers on him – in him. He falls apart in a mess of moans, cum and slick. He comes undone _under_ Mark´s hands.

And Mark…Mark doesn't think of how good it feels to pleasure Hyuck. He doesn't think about how nice it is to have Donghyuck going soft and pliant for him. He doesn´t think about how glad he is he gets to see Donghyuck, everyone´s hero, vulnerable and flushed and responsive and spread open for him. He doesn´t allow himself to do so – he won´t admit that he doesn't need to think about it, because he already knows it.

Donghyuck comes with a cry, spurting his cum over both of them.

This time, it seems to be enough. Mark gets up from the bed without a word. He helps Donghyuck clean himself. He gets a new blanket for him and gives him some water.

This doesn't feel like a help the other out. It feels intimate and full of repressed emotions. Once again, they both avoid thinking about _it_. Once again, they both go to sleep without talking about _it – them_.

***

Things after Donghyuck´s heat are…weird. Mark had finished taking proper care of Hyuck, of course. He waited until the fever broke. And even then, after Donghyuck told him he could handle it on his own, he stayed. He helped Donghyuck change his bedsheets, and waited for him while he showered. He said sorry for not being able to cook anything for him. Then, he said goodbye and left.

It´s been a week since then.

Taken, it´s not really a long time. Except it kind of is when you see each other nearly every day, and text all the time. It is a long time when your friends know each other and they know something is not okay.

However, Donghyuck can´t bring himself to talk to Mark about it. Cause, actually, there is nothing to talk about. They´d made a deal, and they carried it out. That was supposed to be it. Donghyuck doesn't know what the problem is. And, if it is that he´d made Mark uncomfortable, then he doesn't want to force the elder to do anything else.

And Donghyuck doesn't know if Mark is uncomfortable cause heats are simply out of his depth, or if he´s uncomfortable cause of Donghyuck. One way or the other, the silence of the unspoken hangs over them like a deadline to their friendship. Donghyuck hopes that keeping a distance for a while will lift up the sentence of the end.

He doesn't want Mark to become a stranger. Much less if it happens as a result of this.

He feels guilty. He feels like this whole thing, this whole tension between them, is his fault. He´s a little scared that Mark might have seen him, his true feelings, while in heat – and felt uncomfortable. He feels responsible.

He also feels ashamed of having been so weak in front of Mark. So desperate for his friend. So needy for help. He doesn´t like the feeling.

Donghyuck tries not to let the guilt and shame eat him up. He takes boiling-hot showers and scrubs at his skin until it´s red. He tries to wash all those feelings off. The only thing that really gets washed off is Mark´s scent. Donghyuck doesn't like that.

He doesn´t know what to do.

***

Apparently, Donghyuck is not the only who´s been feeling down lately. Not that Donghyuck has seen or texted Mark.

However, Johnny and Jaehyun picking him up from his last class, with frowns on their ridiculously handsome faces should be a pointer that something is not okay with Mark.

Donghyuck asks them to take the conversation to a public place. He doesn't do this as a result of Johnny and Jaehyun being alphas, he does it cause they are people who might believe he´s hurt someone they love deeply. People – not only alphas – who are protective or vengeful are dangerous.

They end up sitting a café near campus.

It looks like Johnny has noticed how down and tired Donghyuck is, cause the murderous look he had earlier is replaced by a concerned one.

“Are you okay, Donghyuck?” he asks.

“I´m fine,” he answers dryly.

“Did Mark and you fight or something?” Jaehyun asks then, his brows furrowing in worry, too.

“Or something,” he replies with a shrug. Both alphas level him with unimpressed stares. He sighs. “Things are awkward…? I think he´s mad at me, but I don´t really know exactly why. And I don´t wanna make things worse.”

The older boys share a look. They nod, and Johnny proceeds to ask:

“What are your intentions with our little brother?” he asks seriously. Donghyuck is taken aback by the direct question.

He knows he could lie, or simply not answer. But he also knows there´s nothing wrong with what he feels for Mark. He´s not ashamed of his feelings. He shouldn´t hide. He takes in a shuddering breath.

“I want him to be happy,” he lets out with a small smile. “I want to stay by his side, and take care of him, and support him, and watch him achieve all of his dreams. And I…I wish I could do that as something more than his friend,” he pauses, giving himself time to get over the sadness that hits him. “But if he wants us to stay friends and allows me to be part of his life, I´ll be content with that, too.”

Both alphas look stunned at his confession. Well, it probably wasn´t what they were expecting. Jaehyun is gaping like a fish. Johnny is looking at him like he wants to see into his soul and figure him out. Donghyuck meets their stares dead-on, his chin high and his shoulders squared. He´s not afraid of the truth.

“I don´t know if Mark feels the same way,” Johnny replies, his hands linked in front of him. Donghyuck holds in his breath. “But I know that ever since he met you, he´s been a little more carefree, a little less afraid. Happier. And that makes us happy for him.”

They both smile at him. Hyuck smiles back. He lets go of the breath he was holding.

“We´re with you, Hyuck.”

They talk more freely from then. Donghyuck actually enjoys the conversation. It reminds him that Johnny and Jaehyun are Mark´s brothers, but they´ve become his Hyungs, too. It´s nice.

Donghyuck feels a little bit better.

***

Unknown to Donghyuck, Johnny kind of knows the mini crisis Mark is going through. He knows he is not the one who can help. He knows someone who can, though.

Ten doesn't even ask Mark if he´s free, he just comes in one day and knocks on his door. He has Sicheng with him, and he´s not leaving until he gets his answers. He does come at a time when he knows Jaemin won´t be there, for his own convenience.

“Hyungs? What…?“ Mark starts asking as soon as he opens the door of his dorm.

“Your brother is so worried about you, that Ten is being cockblocked,” Sicheng says unabashedly. Ten huffs and rolls his eyes.

“He ain´t wrong, but we´re worried about you, too,” Ten says. He lets himself inside, taking Sicheng along. They sit down on Mark´s bed. Mark sits in front of them, on Jaemin´s bed.

“I´m alright, there´s no need to worry,” Mark replies with a smile. Of course, that´s not true. Mark has been going through a major crisis since Hyuck´s heat. He´s been keeping busy, trying not to think about it. But on those moments alone, in the spaces in between, he can´t help it.

“I´d believe it, except for the fact that I don´t,” the oldest omega answers in his characteristically sassy way.

Mark hesitates. He´s been carrying all these questions like stones weighting him down. He wants answers, too. He wants to feel light again. He wants things to be okay with Hyuck again.

He takes in a shaky breath.

If there are people who can help him, and who won´t judge him, it´s Ten and Sicheng.

“Aren´t opposites supposed to attract?” he starts with something general.

“Um, in what way do you mean?” Ten asks, a confused frown on his brows.

“Alphas are supposed to like omegas, and omegas are supposed to like alphas, because opposites attract…”

“I don´t think alphas and omegas are opposites,” Ten says. “Plus, where would that leave betas?”

“Well, then aren´t we supposed to be attracted to people of a different subgender? While people of our subgender are only our allies and friends?” Mark asks. He can´t stop fidgeting. Understanding seems to light up his hyungs´ eyes.

“That´s a conception in general culture, but beta couples exist, for example. I mean, usually everyone ignores that fact for some reason, but it´s still there,” his Hyung answers.

“Look at it this way: Ten Hyung and I are both omegas. If you were to describe us, wouldn´t you say we´re opposites? But we´re not dating,” Sicheng supplies. “Jungwoo and Yukhei are both betas, and they are kind of similar personality-wise. They´re dating.”

“Johnny and I are an alpha-omega couple, and we couldn´t be more similar to each other. And then you have Sicheng and Yuta Hyung, who couldn´t be more contrasting,” the older omega says. “Every relationship is different and unique.”

“Your subgender is part of who you are, not everything there is to you,” Sicheng completes. “It does affect your life and experiences, but so do a lot of other things. It shouldn´t be a limit to anything, especially who you´re attracted to.”

“We´re all individuals, not only members of a group.”

Mark looks at the hyungs with his doe-eyes wide open.

“I have never seen anyone in this situation before, and I…don´t know if I like him or if I´m weird, or if I´m only confused,” he admits, panic bleeding out of his words.

“Mark, I´m sorry that you don´t have anyone to take an example from,” Ten says. “But there are millions of people in this planet, and I assure you, you´re not alone, you´re not the only one going through this. And only you can decide how you feel.”

“What if people don´t like my decision?” he says back in a whisper, his voice quivering.

“That´s on them,” Ten answers with a shrug. “And, unless you want to commit murder for something unreasonable, you know that we´ll support you in every decision you take.”

Mark laughs a little. Leave it to Ten to make anything except for senseless murder plausible.

“I´ll think about it,” Mark ends up saying. Because maybe it´s time for him to stop avoiding it, and actually give it some thought to solve it. Ten and Sicheng seem to understand. They hug Mark, give him a couple more of reassuring words and leave.

He´s scared, that´s the first thing he needs to admit to himself.

The second thing he needs to admit is that Ten is right; he can´t be the only one this has happened to. That means he´s not deviant, and that same-subgender attraction exists. If betas can be attracted to betas, and that is considered natural, then why shouldn´t it be the same for omegas and alphas? (And what about the validity of liking anyone because you choose to?)

Then, the thing about not seeing anyone else in this situation is a vicious cycle. People don´t see this situation, and therefore think it doesn't exist. People who want it to happen are afraid because they haven´t seen it happen before. And so, their fear doesn't allow them to make it happen, to make other people see it´s possible and okay.

That takes Mark to the conclusion that an omega liking an omega is alright.

However, that doesn't mean he _likes_ Hyuck. The possibility of him just being confused is still presumable.

Ten and Sicheng are both omegas, and they´re friends. Jungwoo and Yukhei are both betas, and they´re dating. This is confusing. Mark groans in frustration.

_Stop pretending for a second, Mark,_ he tells himself.

Whatever he felt in Donghyuck´s heat only confirmed his suspicions about what had been happening in his head and in his heart for a while. Avoiding him after helping him through his heat was his way of denying what he already knew.

He likes Donghyuck´s eyes and his tanned skin. He likes his silver hair and his moles. He likes his honey voice and is endless teasing. He likes his cinnamon scent and his warm hugs. He likes his sincerity and his boldness. He likes his bravery and his wittiness. He likes his cuteness and his ferocity. He likes his laugh and his smiles. He likes Donghyuck. Mark likes Donghyuck so much.

And it´s okay.

Mark knows for sure now, he wants to date Donghyuck. The question that follows is: will Donghyuck want to date Mark? Will Donghyuck want to date an omega at all?

Mark doesn't know.

The only way to find out is to ask. Mark wants to solve this whole awkward thing that´s been going on between them. And he knows that his non-confrontational style won´t work for this.

Mark has to confess to Donghyuck.

He can´t just keep on with his life, hoping that other people will solve his problems. He has to do it himself. He has to follow his own feelings, stand for his thoughts, do his own actions, be his own person.

And he can do it.

Maybe he doesn't have to wait for someone out of the ordinary to come and help him. Maybe he can help himself. Just like Donghyuck had told him before; he can become as strong as he wants to. He can be his own hero.

And maybe it all starts by saving himself.

He´s the only one who can achieve his happiness. He´s the only one who can find out whether he has a chance with Hyuck or not. He´s the only one who can do it.

This doesn't mean that Mark is any less afraid of what might happen – be it rejection (which he doesn't let himself consider, lest he chickens out), or other consequences of confessing.

However, he is a little more faithful than he is afraid. So, he decides to walk forward, with his head high and his heart in the flesh – and try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was it, yeah… things are about to go down. It´s a short (and a little heavy) update but I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you think about it. Next chapter in a few days!
> 
> (Let´s keep up the good work with One!)
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


	6. Things change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Donghyuck meet. They talk and things unfold (fucking finally).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I´d updated like three days ago, but apparently I only imagined it... sorry about that, I didn´t realize till today. So, there´s a double update; chapter 7 is up now, too. 
> 
> Annywayssss, I hope you´ll enjoy this!

Donghyuck wakes up to a confusingly alarming text. From Mark.

**Adorkable Canada**

We need to talk

And yes, Donghyuck is worried. Especially cause that sounds like a break-up text, and he´s sure that one needs to be in a relationship to be broken up with. If he looks on the bright side, at least he´s positively not getting dumped. _Technically_.

**Me**

Time and place?

Mark chooses a simple cafe near campus, and tells him to meet him there after his classes.

Donghyuck is a little (read: very) anxious about what Mark could possibly tell him. He doesn't know if the older omega has the intention of making things go back to the way they were before or ending things for real.

Honestly, Donghyuck wouldn´t blame him if he decided to never talk to him again. Probably Mark felt too much discomfort helping Hyuck but didn´t say no cause he´s kind to a fault. Or maybe he noticed the younger´s feelings and felt uncomfortable – or worse, like Donghyuck was forcing his feelings on him. Or maybe he just didn´t like Hyuck´s vulnerable side. In any case, all of them are Donghyuck´s fault.

What can he say? He was ashamed of showing that weak and vulnerable part of himself to Mark, too. And he felt guilty for having to ask for help, especially from the older omega.

***

The place Mark chose is pretty. It´s small, cozy, and there aren´t that many customers, so it´s comfortably quiet. Donghyuck sits at a booth in a corner.

Donghyuck, for once in his life, gets there early. He´s usually that one person who´s always bouncing off the walls, and being kind of hyper. The telltale of his nervousness is not fidgeting, it´s being still, quiet and looking down. He tries to be conscious of his breath, as Yukhei had taught him to, to calm down.

He´s interrupted by Mark sitting on the opposite side of the booth.

“Hi, what´s up? Oh, um, you haven´t ordered. Want me to order something for us?” the older omega asks, speaking so fast, it seems like he´s in a hurry.

“Uh, yeah,” Donghyuck blinks, answering before he can think about it.

“Great, be right back,” Mark replies with a tight smile. He leaves just as fast as he came.

Donghyuck is a little out of breath. He wasn´t expecting that. Mark is not usually one to talk so fast unless he´s embarrassed, mad or nervous. And he didn´t sound neither mad, nor embarrassed. That makes his stomach twist; if Mark is that nervous, it must mean he really messed up, huh?

While Mark is ordering coffee for them, Donghyuck psyches himself for what´s to come. He prepares an apology for whatever happened in his heat. He makes up a long essay about why they should still be friends. And he is almost sure he´s gonna have forgotten half of it for the time Mark comes back, but it keeps him busy enough.

“Here you go,” Mark says, giving Hyuck his coffee.

“Thanks,” he replies. Then, Mark surprises him once more; instead of sitting across him, with a table separating them, he sits beside him. Which is so weird, cause Mark Lee always avoids physical contact.

“So, how´ve you been?” the black-haired omega asks. Oh, small talk. Great. Donghyuck sucks at that.

“Good. How about you?” he tries to keep the conversation going. He pushes a smile on his face, but he´s not completely sure of how fake it looks. He hopes that Mark´s oblivious self won´t notice.

“Me too,” he nods.

They talk as though they were strangers. Mark pretends not to notice Donghyuck´s lack of brightness and wittiness and sarcastic remarks. Donghyuck pretends not to notice Mark´s endless fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater and the bouncing of his knee.

Donghyuck wants a chance. If he has to start from strangers again…well, it´s better than not being in Mark´s life at all. He forces himself to keep the talk going, and to only engage in general topics for the elder´s comfort.

Mark wants to confess. He´s been having a crisis for a week, and he couldn´t sleep for the last two days thinking of how to tell Donghyuck he likes him. He tries to smile and be smooth about it. However, he has too much nervous energy contained, and he can´t stop moving.

Their chitchat is not going anywhere. And the silences between topics are not their usual comfortable ones, they´re awkward and tense. No one says a word they really mean until Donghyuck takes a sip of his coffee – and finds it to be his favorite.

“You remembered my coffee order,” he mentions, with a sincere smile this time. It´s not like it´s been such a long time since they´ve seen each other, it´s just they´ve probably only gotten coffee together once because of their different schedules.

“I remember lots of things about you,” Mark replies. Realizing what he said, he looks down and rubs the back of his neck bashfully. Donghyuck chuckles lightly, his heart racing in his chest against his better judgement.

Donghyuck takes a leap towards normality.

“Stop fidgeting, Hyung, it´s only me,” he says, a teasing tone to his voice.

“Sorry,” he answers with a smile of his own. His knee is still bouncing up and down, though. Donghyuck is getting even more anxious because of it.

“It´s alright,” Hyuck answers, placing his hand on top of Mark´s knee and holding him in place. Mark loses control of his actions at that single gesture.

“I like you,” he blurts out, looking at the younger in the eye. Donghyuck´s heart skips a beat. He tries to cover for it with a forced chuckle.

“Of course, we´re friends.”

“I like you as more than friends,” Mark states. He´s never sounded surer about anything.

Donghyuck feels hope blossoming in his chest. He smiles, opening his mouth to answer when a loud huff from another table distracts him. Unfortunately, Mark seems to notice it too – and he shrinks.

“Are you…embarrassed about it?” he asks in a low volume to avoid any more eavesdropping. He tries to hide the hurt in his eyes. He takes his hand off Mark´s knee.

“No! No, I´m not, I swear,” Mark says with an edge of panic. His hands hover over Donghyuck´s, not knowing what to do. He ends up using them to gesture widely and get his point across – since he´s probably speaking too fast. “I´m just, I´m just scared. I´ve never done this before. And I really don´t know what could happen, and that scares me too. But I like you, Hyuck. I like you a lot – way too much to let myself be paralyzed by fear,” he admits. He cuts himself off and starts rambling in his nervousness. “I wish you´d agree to dating me, if you, if you want! Of course, only if you feel like it´d work! Or I don´t know, I mean, you probably don´t see me that way, but maybe-“

“Mark!” Donghyuck interrupts him. Mark meets his eyes. He does look scared, if only a bit hopeful. Donghyuck smiles at him. “I like you too. I´d love to date you, officially.”

“Great!” Mark sighs, visibly relieved. He pushes his frames up the bridge of his nose and nods excitedly. Then, he offers his hand to Hyuck.

“Are you seriously asking me to shake hands on this?” he asks incredulously (and much endeared).

“I´m nervous, okay?!” Mark exclaims in a high voice. Donghyuck lets out a small, fond laugh. Mark is too cute. The younger takes the black-haired omega´s hand in his, but instead of shaking it like in a business transaction, he interlaces their fingers.

“Is this alright?” he asks. He knows that this confession took a lot of courage from Mark; he wants this whole thing to be comfortable for both of them, start slowly.

In the good news, Mark nods vehemently and even blushes. His insides feel like goo, but no one needs to know.

And no one thinks twice of two omegas holding hands – it is normal for them to be affectionate, a friendly thing to do. But things change when said omegas interlace their fingers under the table, because they share something too precious for the world to see.

Mark and Donghyuck only know that this feels right.

***

They talk a lot.

Not only at the café; they end up going to Donghyuck´s dorm afterwards. They also spend a lot of time together in the days following. It resembles their routine from before, but it´s not quite like that. They try to hang out more privately, to see more places, to explore this new relationship they´re building. They are limited on their options, because omega safety is an issue, so they can´t hang out on lots of places after dark; however, they still try to make it work.

They discuss things. About Mark. About Donghyuck. About _them_.

The younger omega apologizes to Mark about the heat thing. He explains his thoughts about it. Mark tells him (rather shyly) his perspective and says there´s nothing to forgive. (He also told Donghyuck that it´s alright to be vulnerable sometimes, and that it doesn´t make him any less strong in his eyes – but that is a conversation for another time).

Donghyuck shares stories with Mark about his childhood, and his adventures with his friends and siblings. He tells him all about his congresses and how important the pro-omega-rights activism is for him. He talks to him about his love for videogames and dramas.

Mark shares stories with Hyuck about his family, and what he liked about his life in Canada and the U.S. He tells him all about his passion for music and literature. He talks to him about his love for books and basketball.

They decide to go slow. To get to know their own limits. To get to know each other as more than friends. To see what it is like being an _us_ instead of a _you_ and _I_.

They are all about meaningful touches, gentle gazes and secret smiles. During the first days, Mark is a little skittish about touching. It´s not only because of their relationship, he´s just not used to it – and then there are some doubts about touching in public. Donghyuck understands. But he also sees Mark making an effort for him; the elder knows that touch is Donghyuck’s love language.

So yes, Mark keeps pushing Hyuck away most of the time, like when they were only friends. The difference is that he always giggles or blushes afterwards. He enjoys Donghyuck´s attention, and makes sure that the younger notices it. Mark has even taken to caressing Hyuck´s hair, and sometimes he´s the one who initiates the hugs.

They´re both really happy about this development.

They´re also happy about how their dynamics work. Mark goes with all of Hyuck´s whims (what´s new). He lets him sleep at the library, like before, and makes sure to buy his favorite brand of strawberry milk. He endures (and enjoys) all of Hyuck´s teasing. And Donghyuck is always there for Mark. He supports him verbally all the time, and buys watermelon candy for him. He also learns the lyrics to Mark´s favorite songs for them to sing together – even if English is sometimes hard for Donghyuck.

Being brave for each other, trying out things for each other, doing things for each other has turned out to have amazing results.

***

There is only one slight…unresolved thing: it´s been almost three weeks and they haven´t told their friends about them, as an item.

And that´s weird because 1) Donghyuck usually shares everything with his friends, 2) Mark´s friends are super protective of him and tend to notice this kind of thing, 3) they don´t really know how to act around them – or what their reactions will be like.

They´d decided that they´d wait a little before telling everyone, just in case they found that the new dynamic wasn´t working for them. Plus, it was easier to start without that pressure, and see if they were both really comfortable and sure about it. _However,_ it´s been wonderful, and they don´t want to hide. Like, they don´t actually hide, but they do limit themselves in their comments and in their touches. Donghyuck wants to be able to hold Mark´s hand when they´re walking around campus, not only underneath tables.

And it seems like it´s finally time to talk about it.

“Hyuck, have you told anyone about us?” Mark is the one to ask. They´re sitting together on the older omega´s bed, just cuddling and chatting.

“I haven´t explicitly said anything, and they haven´t asked. But I think Renjun and Jaemin might be onto us,” Donghyuck shrugs. Mark nods, biting his lower lip.

“I think I´m ready to go public, if you´re okay with it,” Mark comments. He tries not to be too nervous; he knows their relationship is not to be hidden, but he´s slightly worried by the simple fact that he´s done nothing like this before. Unsurprisingly, Donghyuck seems to be nonchalant about it.

“Sure, Hyung,” he replies, smiling up at him. Mark smiles back.

“Then, we can tell them that we´re together,” the older boy says happily. He´s so excited for this, that he can´t stop the next words coming from his mouth. “And we won´t have to be so discrete anymore, and we can tell them to keep their hands to themselves-“

“Mark Lee,” Donghyuck interrupts him. He turns around completely to face Mark, to look at him and make sure he´s not hearing things. “Are you jealous?” he asks with big amazed eyes.

Mark blushes, red tinting his cheeks and ears. He rubs the back of his neck bashfully. Donghyuck keeps looking at him with something like hope in his eyes. It is not often that Mark shows how much he likes Donghyuck verbally. Mark sighs, but gives in.

“Not jealous…” he starts explaining. He´s a bit embarrassed to say these things out loud. But, if Hyuck has taught him something, is how important it is to say things for himself. “I´m just a little…protective. I know you´re touchy with people, and you like it, and that you won´t change because of my insecurities – I won´t ask you to, because I don´t think you will, and I don´t want that either. I´d just… really like if we could get to an agreement? Um, I don´t know if I´m crossing a border here. What do you think?”

Donghyuck takes a second to think. The first thing that comes to his mind is how proud he is of Mark actually saying what´s on his mind – and yet, he still has that kindness characteristic to him. He really, really likes that. He really likes Mark – the true Mark.

“Well, relationships are about compromise,” Hyuck answers. “What do you propose?”

“Oh, um, how about you keep interacting with everyone the way you´re used to, but keep a few things reserved for me?” he starts, a little hesitant. Then, he admits: “I really like it when you give me special attention.”

“You´re so cute, Mark,” Donghyuck coos, pinching the elder´s cheek. He ignores the way his heart beats crazily in his chest. Mark rolls his eyes, but his cheeks are heated once again. “Keep going, Hyung.”

“You like this, don´t you?”

“I like you,” Donghyuck replies with a shit-eating grin. Mark groans and buries his face in his hands – as much as he can while wearing his glasses. Hyuck chuckles, and circles his fingers around Mark´s wrists. “Don´t do that, I like your face too.”

“You´re not helping,” Mark whines. His ears are getting redder by the second. Laughter bubbles in Hyuck´s throat.

“You like this, too, I know it,” Donghyuck singsongs. Mark takes in a deep breath and abandons the safety of his hands to (try to) glare at the younger.

“No, I don´t,” he says in a five-year old fashion, pout and all. Donghyuck huffs.

“Taeil Hyung does,” Hyuck flicks Mark off. Mark gapes at him.

“But I am your boyfriend!” he whines again with a pout, pointing at his chest with his forefinger. Then he adds more quietly. “Please don´t tease Taeil Hyung like this.”

“Hmmm, only cause you asked so nicely,” he says with a cheeky smile. Mark is the one to huff this time (it does nothing to hide the up-tilted corners of his mouth).

“You´re insufferable,” the elder replies. However, he wraps his arms around Donghyuck´s waist and buries his nose in his neck. Donghyuck wraps his arms around the black-haired omega´s shoulders.

“You like it.”

“I like you,” he murmurs against his skin, mirroring Hyuck´s words. And Donghyuck´s heart beats strongly in his ribcage. He´ll never admit it, but he feels the heat creeping up his cheeks.

“What is it that you want, then?” Donghyuck asks with a hum. Mark smiles.

“Compliments, huh? I should´ve noticed this sooner,” he says, a teasing end to his voice. He takes in one last whiff of Hyuck´s warm scent before drawing back from his arms.

“Took you long enough to figure it out, dumbass,” Donghyuck replies, his words have no real bite. “So, you gonna answer my question, Canada?”

“I want to be the only to hold your hand, and kiss your lips and help with your heats, if you´ll allow me to,” Mark says, his voice quieter and quieter with every request.

Donghyuck takes in a shaky breath. He´s surprised Mark mentioned heats. In a good way, of course. Maybe the fact that he mentioned it means that Mark really likes him – omega and all – and that he´s okay with it. That makes Donghyuck feel relieved.

He smiles reassuringly at the older omega.

“Okay, we can do that,” Donghyuck says. Mark beams at him, the corner of his eyes crinkling up cutely. “But, I also want to be the only one to hold your hand, kiss your lips and, if you let me, help you with your heats.”

“Okay.”

They look at each other. They´re really close. Their legs are tangled in a way that lets them face each other without sitting on the other´s laugh. And Donghyuck´s hands are still on Mark´s shoulders. Donghyuck´s eyes shift to Mark´s lips and then go back up to his eyes. Mark´s breath stutters.

“It´s weird that we´re talking about kissing, when we haven´t done it yet, right?” Donghyuck lets out nervously. His eyes keep skipping to Mark´s pretty lips.

“Maybe we could change that,” Mark gulps, his Adam´s apple moving in his throat. His own eyes are focused on the younger´s plush lips. Without realizing, he moves closer. However, he stops when there are barely two inches between them.

Donghyuck wants to kiss Mark so goddamned much. He´s wanted it for a long time now. But he wants Mark to be the one to take that step – he wants to be sure that he´s ready.

And Mark does want to kiss Donghyuck. His lips are plush, and pink and so enticing. Plus, Hyuck´s teasing and his sharp words only make Mark want to kiss him more and more. He´s been wanting to do so for the last three weeks, but has been too shy to bring it up. And now the time has finally come.

He leans in slowly. Gosh, he´s so nervous and excited and happy. When his lips are about to touch Hyuck´s when he breaks into a huge smile. And a giggle comes out of his lips. Donghyuck can´t help giggling along.

“Stop being cute and kiss me, dork,” he whispers. He´s sure Mark can hear his heart thundering in his chest.

Mark kisses him. He presses his lips against Donghyuck´s softly. It´s barely peck, a little clumsy, a little hesitant. They don´t let that deter them. It´s only a start. After the first peck, Mark presses firmer kisses to Hyuck´s lips. Then, Hyuck slightly opens his mouth and lets his warm tongue trace Mark´s lips. Mark gasps – and returns the favor.

It is sweet, careful. But they don´t mind. They enjoy it. They like the feeling of discovering something new with the other. Of exploring things together, slowly.

Mark likes kissing Hyuck. His lips are warm, soft, and they taste like cinnamon. Donghyuck kisses the same way he does everything else: unexpectedly, teasingly, surely. It leaves Mark breathless and craving for more.

Donghyuck also enjoys kissing Mark. He´s a little hesitant and oh so nice. He´s careful, but open to experiment. He´s gentle, but determined.

They only pull away when they´re forced to do so by their (annoying) need of oxygen. They are both breathing heavily. Their lips are red and covered in spit.

When they lock eyes, they burst into laughter.

“Damn, Canada, you´re good at this,” Hyuck teases. Mark rolls his eyes.

“Shut up.”

“You do it.”

Mark leans in to capture Hyuck´s lips in his again.

Yes, they both like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, I hope you liked this! And stream Resonance!!!
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


	7. It´s okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Donghyuck work things out. Everything will be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note on this one, Seulrene are Mark´s moms cuz monster and naughty happened; omega!Seulgi and alpha!Irene. And I´m sorry if they´re slightly ooc, I don´t know them that well yet and needed them to be like that to fit the story, but I *had* to put them in, they just left such a strong impression.

Donghyuck can´t wait to tell his friends about Mark and him. He´d felt especially bad about not saying anything to Renjun and Jaemin, cause they are usually the first ones to know if anything is up with his love life. But, they´re finally ready, and the time has come. After telling Renjun and Jaemin, telling the rest of the gang will come naturally.

Honestly, he´s really lucky. He knows that his friends are really open-minded, and that they´d always stand by him – if their adventures in high school had taught him something, was how real their support for his crazy ideas was. Jaemin and Renjun are some of the most important people in his life. He´s excited to tell his friends.

He calls for a meeting at his dorm.

“Listen up, bitches,” are the inspiring words with which he begins his emotional speech. “My love life is officially existent and active.”

“Is Mark Lee the poor unfortunate soul you ensnared into this?” Renjun asks, an eyebrow quirked up.

“Yup, and he´s happy about it,” Donghyuck declares with a grin.

There´s silence before the chaos erupts.

“Pay up, Nana,” the Chinese omega says, extending his hand towards Jaemin. Donghyuck is not even surprised they bet on him. He watches the interaction with a small smile on his face.

“I don´t own cash – or any other form of monetary payment – but I can pay up in hugs,” Jaemin answers completely seriously. “But, Hyuckie is getting hugs before you, Renjunnie.”

Then, the boy proceeds to hug the life out of Donghyuck. He squeezes the tanned omega in is arms, and smothers him with playful kisses on his cheeks.

“Does this mean we have your best-friend approval stamp?” Hyuck asks teasingly.

“Of course, baby. You´re such an amazing person, and deserve to be loved by another amazing person like Mark Hyung! And, you guys are so cute together, I just want to squish you,” the pink-haired omega coos. Donghyuck laughs at his antics, and stays in his friend´s embrace.

“Renjunnie?” he asks then, looking at his other best friend in the eye. The older omega´s lips are pursued, but the corners of his mouth are turned upwards.

“If he breaks your heart, I´ll break his legs,” Renjun says offhandedly. Donghyuck chuckles; in Renjun language, this means _I´m so happy for you, and I will always stay by your side._

“You owe us details, sweetie,” Jaemin says as he draws back.

“If you give me some candy, I might be able to talk,” Donghyuck negotiates.

“Is Mark not sweet enough to you?”

“Ugh, you didn´t just say that-“

“Oh my god, your jokes are worse than Jeno´s-“

“Now, that’s serious.”

That´s more or less how it goes. They end up huddled together on the floor, between the beds, where they build a little pillow fort, just like when they were younger. They also eat a whole lot of junk food. Donghyuck tells them everything, from the moment he realized he had feelings for Mark, to their latest date. And yes, Hyuck shamelessly uses this opportunity to wax sappy poetry about Mark and his pretty self.

Hyuck looks so fond, endeared and genuinely _happy_ when talking about Mark, that Renjun and Jaemin let him speak for as long as he wants.

Donghyuck comes (yet again) to the conclusion that he has the most wonderful best friends he could´ve ever asked for. They´re some of the strongest people Donghyuck knows. Renjun is a smart, small ball of sass. Even if he´s quiet most of the time, he´s fierce and will achieve what he wants. Then there´s Jaemin, who´s diligent and keeps smiling and taking care of people around him, no matter what he´s going through. He´s unstoppable in his own way. 

Renjun and Jaemin´s strength has kept Donghyuck together in difficult times. They have enjoyed the good times with him, too. They have remained a constant to his life. Donghyuck is really thankful for his friends.

“Hyuck?” Jaemin calls as they prepare to sleep.

“Yeah?”

“Promise you won´t forget about us now that you have a boyfriend?”

“I promise,” he says without hesitation. Even if they usually click without words, some things need to be said.

“If you dare to leave us behind for dick, I´ll slap you,” Renjun adds.

“How could I ever leave my precious babies? Who would annoy them then?” Hyuck teases.

“Ugh, forget it. Go torment Mark Hyung or something.”

“Not like you´re any better with Jeno, Jea.”

“I´m a hypocrite. Now, we´re talking about Hyuckie here,” he defends himself.

It goes on like that for the rest of the night. Best friends, what can I say?

***

Mark, unlike Donghyuck, is nervous to tell his friends. Well, Chenle already kind of assumes it – he´ll be thrilled when Mark tells him. Mark shakes his head, smiling. Fine, he´s not nervous about telling all of his friends; after the first one, he´ll be over the milestone, and they´ll probably spread the message, anyway.

But Jeno is the very first one, and Mark can´t stop fidgeting.

Jeno and Mark had met when the omega first moved to Korea. They both liked music and sports, and they were on the quiet, rule-following side. That´s how they became friends. They´ve been inseparable since then. They´ve been supporting and taking care of each other since then, too.

Jeno is Mark´s oldest friend, and one of his two best friends (the other one being Yukhei). And Mark wants to break the news to him first – plus, he doesn´t think he´d be able to handle the nerves if there were more people here.

He doesn´t even know why he feels so nervous. It´s not like he´s never told his friends about one of his relationships, and he thinks they´ll be nice about Hyuck, too. However, he can´t help the worry in the pit of his stomach; this is really important to Mark, he wants to have his friends´ full support.

They are hanging out at Mark´s dorm, sitting side by side. Jeno looks at him like he knows that Mark´s got something to tell him. But he doesn´t pressure or ask; Mark will say something when he´s ready.

Mark takes in a deep breath, steels himself.

And he knows the words won´t come out of his lips. His tongue feels like lead in his mouth, his throat is threatening to close up, and the knot in his chest keeps tightening.

He holds his phone up and starts typing with jittery fingers. It´s slow, and he keeps messing up his spelling, but he does it. And he sends the text.

**Me**

I´m dating Hyuck

Mark doesn´t carry out his original plan of _telling_ Jeno about Hyuck. However, he´s pretty proud of himself for not locking himself up in the bathroom and not letting the alpha know.

Jeno looks at his phone for a couple of seconds too long. Mark can practically see the gears in his head turning.

When he finally looks at Mark, Jeno seems to be…surprised. Mark´s fidgeting starts getting worse as the seconds pass in silence. The alpha notices.

“I wasn´t expecting this,” Jeno says. Of course, typical Lee Jeno, being oblivious to everything, like Mark himself.

“So…?” Mark asks tentatively.

“It´s not that I think it´s bad, just…when I see two omegas or alphas together, I assume they´re only friends. And when I see an omega and an alpha, I assume they´re a couple. And I guess that´s pretty hypocritical of me, because I get annoyed when people assume _we_ are dating, just because of our subgender.”

Mark feels relief washing over him. Accompanied by a tinge of familiarity. He knows what Jeno is talking about – he used to think that way until Hyuck happened.

“It´s alright. We can´t help the way we were raised, what we were taught or the things we´re used to seeing. We´ve always thought of alpha-omega couples as a given, and we assume subconsciously,” he says. “But now that we know that this untrue disposition is there, we can actively try to change it.”

Jeno smiles at him, crescent-shaped eyes and all.

“Now that I´m aware, I can choose to think instead of blindly going along with what I was raised with. Makes sense.”

“Yeah.”

They are silent for some seconds before Jeno speaks again. He places a hand on the elder´s shoulder.

“Mark Hyung, my bro,” he squeezes his shoulder affectionately, and smiles sincerely. “For the record, I´m really happy for you.”

Mark lets go of a breath he didn´t know he was holding. And all of his nerves start dissolving.

“Thanks,” he replies with a chuckle.

“I mean it,” Jeno insists. “Donghyuck is a good guy. And, since you two met, it looks like you’ve been…how can I say it? More comfortable in your skin?”

“How do you mean?” Mark cocks his head to the side, confused.

“Now, it´s like when were kids. You were shy, but a little bit more carefree – at least around your brothers and me, you did tell us things. But then came high school and you became more reserved, wouldn´t speak until someone asked you something.”

Mark opens his mouth in a little `o´. He hadn´t noticed this. He´d just adapted to life. Back when they were younger, being an omega, beta or alpha was not that different; they still played around and did what they wanted. But in high school… that´s when the signs that he was different from Jeno and his brothers showed; his scent became more defined, his heats turned from being a usual cold to a sex craving, his body changed – even people´s reactions to him were different.

That´s when all the expectations of being a good little omega hit him. Good little omegas were pretty, kind, lithe, selfless, innocent, quiet, silly in the daily but good at school. Good little omegas didn´t like sports, they liked alphas and cooking. Good little omegas dreamed of having a partner and children; they could dream of going to college, but everyone knew it wasn´t the first step towards a professional career, they were only there while they got married.

Mark wasn´t like that, but he thought he had to be. That´s when he started pretending.

“I hadn´t realized,” he says out loud, a bitter expression to his face.

“Me neither, until you opened up again,” Jeno replies. “I think it´s good. You look happier.”

“ _Dude_ , why are you saying sappy stuff like that?” Mark asks in a high, embarrassed voice. Jeno chuckles.

“Because you´re my best bro.”

“Bro.”

They burst out laughing. Jeno takes Mark into one of those side bro-dude hugs.

Mark knows it´s going to be alright.

***

Mark, Jaehyun and Johnny are going back home for the weekend to celebrate one of their moms´ birthday.

Donghyuck wants to see Mark off. Plus, it´s a good opportunity to inform Johnny and Jaehyun of the developments to their relationship. (They´ve been rooting for them, after all).

The omegas are holding hands, swinging their arms playfully. When Mark looks at Donghyuck, he can´t help smiling so hard that his cheeks ache. Donghyuck feels his heart flutter at the sight of the elder´s beaming smile.

They meet the alphas at the gate. They seem to be engaged in a light-hearted conversation. They stop laughing and pushing each other when they see the omegas.

Jaehyun gives them a thumbs up. Johnny smiles and pats Donghyuck´s shoulder.

“Well done, Hyuck,” the alpha congratulates him. Hyuck smiles with a shrug.

“Actually, it was all Mark,” he admits. Mark´s face instantly starts heating up.

“ _Awwwwwww_ ,” both alphas coo in unison. Mark´s blush crawls up to his ears.

“Good job, little brother! I knew we´d raised you well.”

“They grow up so fast,” Johnny adds, wiping imaginary tears from his face. “You´re a big boy now.”

“Stop being embarrassing,” Mark grumbles with no real bite in his voice.

“But you´re cute when you´re embarrassed, Canada,” Hyuck chimes in with a wicked smile. Mark groans and hides his tomato-red face in the crook of the younger´s shoulder. Donghyuck pats his hair affectionately.

Johnny and Jaehyun _squeal_. Loud and high.

Donghyuck smiles brightly at them. He knew they´d be their number one fans. He likes his Hyungs. And he knows Mark does too, even if he´s too embarrassed to say so at the moment.

***

Back home, Mark has an amazing time with his family.

They play board games and laugh a lot. Their moms tell them how they´ve been doing, and launch into sharing the neighborhood´s gossip with them. Oh, and they feed them a whole lot of food. They know their sons, and know that, except for the oldest one, they can´t cook to save their lives. Oh, and he is also able to play basketball with his brothers.

Mark is happy.

However, they are only able to spend Saturday and Sunday there, and will have to leave on Monday morning. Mark decides to tell his moms about Hyuck the night before they leave.

He´s nervous (what´s new?). But he tries to calm himself down. His moms have always supported him in everything he does. Taken, he´s always been a role-model-child, and they´ve had no reason not to support him in that. Maybe they won´t be as open with some… less conventional stuff.

He tries not to think about it too much, lest he chickens out.

Sure, he could take Hyuck´s approach and not say shit to his parents, and not really care about what they think. But Mark´s relationship with his moms is different. They´re close, and it´s important to him to let them know.

He has to remind himself of what Hyuck told him before leaving: the younger omega will be there for him no matter what, and Johnny and Jaehyun are here to back him up. Mark can do this.

“How´s Ten?” their omega mom asks Johnny over dinner.

“Great, he´s been working on something at the studio, but won´t tell me what is,” Johnny answers with a grin.

“I hope you´re treating him well,” their alpha mom chimes in. She has this little smile in her face, that makes her look nice but scary at the same time.

“He´d bite my head off I didn´t,” Johnny jokes (not really).

“I like him,” their omega mom says. Mark doesn´t know who he should be more terrified of, both of his moms are so powerful that it´s scary. “What about you, Jaehyunnie? Are you enjoying your bachelor life?”

“Meh,” said boy shrugs. “I kinda like this guy, but I don´t know…”

“Hmm,” she hums. Then, she turns to Mark. “What about you, Mark?”

He takes in a shaky breath. Now´s the time.

“I´m actually dating someone. His name is Donghyuck,” he breathes out. His heart is beating hard against his ribcage. His moms have the usual reaction to that.

“That´s great! Is he good to you? Is he a nice alpha?” his omega mom asks, a brilliant smile on her face. Mark´s smile twitches. Here he goes.

“He´s really nice to me. And he, he´s an omega,” he finishes. The only sound around the table is the clattering of utensils against the plates. Johnny and Jaehyun keep eating like nothing happened, and Mark´s grateful for it. On the other hand, both of his moms are looking at him with wide eyes, gaping.

“What a surprise!” his omega mom says with a smile, having recovered from the shock. She looks at her wife, who still seems to be stunned. “Joohyun, come back to Earth, it´s alright.”

Some of the tension in Mark´s shoulders is released when he hears that. It´s alright. His mom said it´s alright. His heart starts calming down, relief setting over him.

“No, it´s- it´s fine,” his alpha mom replies, batting away her omega´s prying hands on her cheeks. “I just can´t believe that alphas out there are so bad, that you ended up with an omega rebound.”

An ugly feeling curls up in Mark´s chest. It´s not nervousness. It´s not confusion. It´s anger mingled with some sadness.

He admires and respects his mom – and he´s grateful for her. But she´s wrong. And Mark, for the first time in his life, has the courage to disagree with her. And he knows this is too important to him to stay quiet. So, he talks back.

“Donghyuck is not a rebound because I didn´t find an alpha,” he says firmly, holding her gaze. “There are many bad alphas, and some good ones, too. But that has nothing to do with why I´m dating Hyuck. I´m dating him because he´s one of the best people I´ve ever met. He´s smart and brave and makes me laugh and feel like I´m safe and I can be myself when I´m around him. I´m with him because our chemistry is otherworldly. I´m with him because he makes me a better person. I´m with him because I like him for who he is.” He pauses, and the table is completely silent – even his brothers look surprised at his declarations. “You´re all important people to me. And I want your approval, but I won´t change who I am or who I want to be with, to get it.”

He stands up.

“Mark-“

“Dinner was delicious, thank you,” is the last thing he says before he disappears into his room.

He locks the door and drops his body over the bed. He falls face-first into his pillow. It has no trace of cinnamon in it.

Mark is feeling a lot of things right now. First, relief because one of his moms actually thinks it´s okay. Then, wrath and resentment at his alpha mom for saying Hyuck is a rebound, and doubting his feelings like that. There´s also some bitterness, fear and dejection mixed in there. Here´s where it gets weird; he feels at ease now that he´s let them know how he feels about the younger omega. He´s glad that he defended his own thoughts and feelings.

There´s a knock on his door, but he doesn't answer.

He wishes he had Hyuck here.

**Me**

Mind videocalling me?

Not even a minute later, Mark is receiving a call. He picks up quickly, not even bothering to look for his headphones.

“Did you miss my sweet voice that much, Canada? Or was it my pretty face?” Donghyuck asks, a smug grin on his really pretty face. Mark sees that Hyuck is wearing his prescription glasses, and he´s in bed. He looks cute.

“You still haven´t come here to stink this room up, and it felt weird,” Mark answers with a shrug. Donghyuck looks at him closely, trying to decipher something out. Enlightenment comes to his face soon enough.

“How did it go?” he asks more quietly. And Mark tells him everything. He tells him about the board games, the laughing, the food. He tells him about his moms´ overly competitive streak, and how much he´d missed them.

He also tells him of his latest conversation with them.

“It´s the first real fight we´ve ever had,” he confesses. Donghyuck quirks up an eyebrow in disbelief. “Really! I´m not a rascal like you,” Mark insists with a playful tone.

“You´re right on that one, fighting with parents is right up my department,” Hyuck jokes back. Mark laughs quietly. For the expression on his face, Mark knows the younger boy is serious when he says: “I´m glad that you spoke up for yourself – and for us. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

Mark´s heart stutters a beat at the sincerity in the silver-haired omega´s voice.

“You see, my boyfriend has been instructing me in the art of being a badass,” Mark says, attempting to lighten up the mood again.

“Yeah?” Hyuck bites down on his lower lip, trying to contain his smile. “He knows what he´s doing. Badass and happy look great on you.”

Mark feels his cheeks heating up.

“Ugh,” he groans, hiding his burning face in the pillow.

“Wish I could kiss your cute blush.”

“Tomorrow.”

“You better, Mark Lee.”

They are only able of talking a couple of minutes longer before Hyuck has to attend to a wasted Jaemin. They say goodbye. Coincidentally, there is a knock on the door as soon as he ends the call.

This time, he gets up from the bed and opens the door. It´s his omega mom.

“Can we talk for a second?” she asks. Mark nods and gestures for her to come in.

“Sure.”

They sit down on the bed. Mark doesn´t make a move to speak. His mom takes the initiative.

“I´ll be honest; I wasn´t expecting any of this. Not you dating an omega, not Joohyun reacting like that and not you talking back,” she starts. It doesn't feel like a scolding. “Life is full of surprises. Point is, I´m surprised but really proud of you.”

“What?!” he asks in a high-pitched voice. Now he´s the surprised one. His mom smiles at him.

“I´m proud of you for fighting for who and what you want, Mark,” she repeats for him. “And, for the way you speak about him, you must like him a lot.”

“I do.”

“You should invite him over sometime. I want to see who´s making my baby feel brave,” she says with a shit-eating grin. Mark groans, but smiles nevertheless. “So, tell me about him.”

And Mark does. He tells her about Hyuck. About the way they met and how they became friends. He tells her how much he´s learned from Hyuck, and how much he likes spending time with him. He tells her about his mischievous smiles, bright eyes, and pretty moles.

“I´m really happy with him,” Mark tells her when he´s done waxing poetry about Hyuck. He could go on for hours, but he´s trying to be considerate to his mom.

“Then you´re allowed to bring him so that he can, what were your words? Stink up your room?” she says. Mark blanches.

“How much did you hear?”

“A lot. I like him. Bratty little thing has you blushing so much,” she answers, trying to outright laugh to Mark´s face.

“ _Oh my god,”_ he bemoans, falling back on the bed. What did he ever do to deserve this?

His mom only keeps laughing at him. She gets up from the bed, ruffles his hair and tells him to shower before he goes to sleep.

When she´s exiting the room, she adds: “Your mom and I love you, okay? She only needs more time to process. She´s slow like that. Please wait for her.”

“Okay.”

***

The next morning both of his moms fret over him and hug him goodbye.

He knows there are still things to be settled, but he decides to give them time. Everything will turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayy, this chapter was a little different from the others, bc I wanted to show markhyuck as an item but show that they´re still independent individuals, and it felt more natural for me to introduce their relationship to the world this way. I don´t usually include this many characters in fics, so I apologize if my characterizations of side characters was not the best; their appearances in this are mostly to show growth in the main characters and to set a vibe. 
> 
> And yeah, lots of dialogue \\(°-°)/ it was the only way haha. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you liked it!! Update in a few days (and now it´s for real haha)!!
> 
> Come look for me on [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1) if you wanna talk about whata great masterpiece Resonance pt.1. was :D


	8. Much to learn and enjoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Donghyuck explore their relationship and themselves, together. 
> 
> They come to a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is all fluff and soft feelings (and some smut or whatever, I tried), bc it felt appropriate and the last chapter was a bit exhausting haha. Enjoy!!

They are currently at the supermarket, bickering over ramen. Why? Because they´re both competitive and stubborn as fuck.

It all started with Donghyuck´s teasing, as most stuff does.

“I _can_ do scrambled eggs!” Mark had tried to defend himself and his cooking skills earlier that day.

“Congratulations! It only took you the first twenty-one years of your life, Hyung,” Hyuck had teased him with a shit-eating grin on his pretty face.

“I can bake too!” Mark had claimed. He didn´t mention that he´d baked once, with his mom – but that doesn´t matter, he was there and therefore is absolutely fully capable of baking.

“Oh really?” Donghyuck had challenged him, quirked eyebrow and all. “Well then, let´s see it. You´ll bake a cake and I´ll have to trust you not to kill me by food poisoning.”

That had won him a smack on the shoulder.

“I can bake, and I´m sure I can do it better than you, Hyuck,” had been the elder´s reply.

“Wanna bet on that, Canada? We´ll both bake; best cake wins,” Donghyuck had snickered. And Mark had agreed.

And well, here they are. Shopping for baking stuff. Or more like Hyuck choosing what they need and putting it in the cart while he drags Mark around.

To anyone else, maybe they´re bickering seems a little aggressive with how competitive they both are. Nevertheless, they both know every word is said with fondness and no real heat.

Their interlaced pinky fingers are proof of that.

Nowadays, they do that a lot. They like it. It is a reassurance for them; they´re boyfriends, they´re dating, they´re not ashamed to show it. And yet, it doesn't feel like PDA – they´re not quite comfortable with that around people other than friends; they don´t like the stares they get, and it´s not really their thing. But pinky finger holding…feels like something special to them, that doesn´t have to mean anything to the world.

They like it. It feels right.

They are already at the line to pay.

“Instant ramen is not real food,” Hyuck claims. Mark huffs.

“Then why is it on the food aisles on every supermarket in the world?” he replies. Now it´s the younger´s turn to huff.

“Well, even if I was wrong – which I´m not – ramen still has no nutritious value for you,” he argues, all high and mighty. Mark rolls his eyes fondly.

“Like your candy and chocolate?”

“Mark Lee, take that back! Candy and chocolate _are_ nutritious for my happiness, which is more important than any body function _ever_!”

“Same shit with my ramen and I.”

“What a dirty mouth, young man. You really wanna kiss me after saying such filthy words?” Hyuck teases him. And he´s making it all sound out of context. Mark´s face heats up in seconds. Donghyuck chuckles at him.

“Ugh, I hate you,” the older omega grumbles.

“Nah, you like me,” Donghyuck says as he boops the black-haired boy´s nose. Mark screeches. And then Hyuck´s eyes light up. “Oh, I forgot something! I´ll be right back,” is what he says before running in to the aisles once again. Mark watches his figure disappear with a soft smile on his face.

That´s when he notices the lady in front of him in the line looking at him. She´s an old woman, so Mark can´t really distinguish her scent or subgender. And having her looking at him is making him a little nervous.

“I know it´s not my place, but I´ll use my age as leverage for once,” she suddenly says. Mark takes a moment to realize she´s talking to him. He gulps. “It´s not often one finds another person they can connect with like that. He looks like he´s special to you, take care of him.”

Mark is too stunned by the suddenness of it all to answer. The lady gives him one last smile and leaves.

Mark blinks, then smiles to himself. Maybe there´s hope for people in this world.

***

Back in Mark´s dorm, the kitchen is a mess. Or well, more like Mark´s side of the kitchen is a mess. And, to be honest, his batter looks gooey and little bit disgusting. Donghyuck makes sure to point it out.

“It looks like it wants to kill me,” he says, pointing at Mark´s bowl. Mark rolls his eyes in what he hopes looks an annoyed way.

“It won´t attack you, Hyuck,” he replies. Although, if he´s sincere, it does look quite scary.

“Are you sure about that? What if once you bake it, it turns into a cake monster?” Donghyuck teases him. His flair for dramatics is clear in the way he speaks.

“You´re ridiculous,” the black-haired omega scoffs, the corners of his mouth up-tilted.

Suddenly, Mark gets a great idea. His batter might not actually be edible, but maybe he can use it in other ways. Funnier ways. Ways to get back at Donghyuck for flaunting his cooking skills so shamelessly. Huh.

“Why do you have that weird expression on your face?” Hyuck questions, immediately catching up. Mark smiles at him, albeit innocently. He keeps mixing the contents in the bowl.

“I don´t,” he answers, barely containing his giggles. For the small, confused frown on Donghyuck´s face, he is still suspicious. And Mark takes his chance. He dips his finger into his batter and says: “I just wanted to…boop your nose!”

And he smears Hyuck´s nose with cake batter. Then, he bursts in laughter at Hyuck´s shocked expression. It´s cute, with his mouth and eyes wide open.

“M-Mark fucking Lee!!!” the younger omega screeches when he finally pulls himself out of his surprise. Mark laughs harder, actually wheezing. “I-I´m the only one allowed to do nose-booping in this household!”

He returns the favor, smearing batter not only on Mark´s nose, but his cheek too. Mark can´t stop laughing. Donghyuck tries to look angry, but he looks more like a child throwing a tantrum. Eventually, he ends up joining the elder´s giggling. It´s the prettiest sound Mark has ever heard.

With both of them dying of laughter, they don´t really calculate the space in the counter. And Mark´s batter splats on the floor. And stains their clothes and every surface in the kitchen.

Both of them gasp loudly – and there is silence for a second. Until their eyes lock into each other. Donghyuck notices the small creases on the corners of Mark´s eyes. Mark sees the sparkles in Hyuck´s.

And they end up laughing _again_. (Seriously, what did Mark´s batter have?)

They like this. They like each other´s laugh and smile and dumb little unforgettable moments side by side.

“Here, let´s clean up,” Mark says, trying to go back to their original baking purpose. They start silently cleaning the floor, the wall and the counter. Once they are done with that, they proceed to look at themselves.

Donghyuck´s clothes didn´t end up as bad as Mark´s. He takes off his sweatshirt and he´s practically almost clean. On the other hand, there´s batter in Mark´s dark hair and all over his front. It is a miracle that not a drop was spilt on his glasses.

The elder opens the faucet in the kitchen and washes his hands and face – and tries his best with his bangs. Then, he dries off his hands on his jeans. Donghyuck follows the same pattern. Except that he doesn´t dry his hands; he sprinkles water in Mark´s direction.

“Payback, bitch!”

“Oh my god!”

“No need to call me god, Canada, I´m fine with Hyuck,” the younger jokes. Mark can´t help but giggle at his antics.

Mark´s glasses have _not_ been spared. And wet glasses give him even blurrier vison than no glasses. He squints at Hyuck – even blurry, he´s the most amazing person Mark has ever seen.

Donghyuck smiles back at him. He brings a hand up to Mark´s cheek, and caresses it softly. Mark leans into the touch. That´s when he feels Donghyuck taking his frames off his nose, and placing them on the counter. He blinks owlishly once. Twice.

“What are you doing?” the older omega asks, brows furrowed in confusion, and his head cocked to the side. Donghyuck chuckles at his cuteness. He takes his face between his hands once again.

“Can you see me better now, Hyung?” he asks with a fond smile on his mouth. Mark´s heart beats crazily against his chest. He bites down on his lip to hold back a smile.

“No, you should come closer,” he answers shakily. Surprisingly, Hyuck follows his request. His lips are just a couple of centimeters away from Mark´s.

“What about now?” his breath fans over Mark´s lips.

“Closer,” he murmurs back.

Donghyuck leans in and places one quick peck on Mark´s awaiting mouth. Two. Three. Mark can´t help smiling against his lips.

“Like that?” Hyuck asks, voice light and his nose slightly brushing against the elder´s.

“More, I got distracted,” Mark says. they both know that´s a shitty excuse; Mark is absolutely whipped, and every time Hyuck is in the room, the black-haired omega´s attention is on him and him only.

Now it is Donghyuck´s turn to bite down on the inevitable smile forming on his lips.

“I guess I´ll have to do it again, then,” he says as he leans in once more. He kisses Mark slowly. But before he can pull away, Mark wraps his arms around him, bringing him closer. He chases after Hyuck´s mouth, pressing their lips together sweetly. Softly. Repeatedly.

Until Donghyuck pulls away. Mark is stomping his feet on the ground before he can think about it.

“ _Hyuck_ , come _back_ ,” he whines. Donghyuck giggles at his boyfriend. Mark pouts. He´s gotten a bit clingier when it´s only them – and Donghyuck loves it, he loves knowing Mark wants to be as close to him, as Donghyuck wants to be to Mark.

“We haven´t finished baking,” Hyuck reminds him. “I mean, we´ve already seen proof of your lack of cooking skills. But I´m not wasting all these ingredients.”

“Ugh, fine,” Mark groans, admitting defeat. He´s not about to lose a cake he payed for (and he´s not contradicting Hyuck). Donghyuck´s smile in response is dazzling.

“Come here, I´ll show you the ways of a master baker,” Donghyuck tells him. Mark stands behind him and puts his arms around his waist. He places his chin on the younger´s shoulder, and inhales his warm cinnamon scent. Hyuck stops doing whatever kitchen-y thing he was doing. “What are you doing?”

“I´m watching you cook, so that I can learn,” he answers.

“Whatever you say, dumbass.”

But that´s the thing; when he´s with Hyuck, Mark doesn´t feel like a dumbass for not being able to do everything on his own. He doesn´t feel like he needs to pretend to be a good little omega. And he´s not scared to let his flaws and quirks show.

Unbeknownst to Hyuck, Mark actually used to refuse to let anyone see him cook – because he knows he sucks at it, no matter how much he tries. And he always felt that, if someone knew, they would be disappointed. They wouldn´t like him that much anymore – especially because being good at cooking is one of the expectations placed on omegas. That´s why he pretended.

But with Hyuck there´s none of that. Donghyuck is shamelessly himself. Whether someone´s watching or not, no matter the time or place. He doesn't care for what´s appropriate or common or expected, he´s just himself. And that makes people around him feel that they can be themselves too.

Mark can be just Mark around Hyuck. There´s no need to hide wat he likes or dislikes. There´s no need to pretend to be someone else. There´s no need to be the perfect little omega.

He really, really likes that.

Donghyuck is having fun too. Cooking and having Mark wrapped around him.

Some people tell him that this soft part of himself contradicts what he fights for – omega rights. If he´s fighting so hard to prove omegas are not baby-factories and housekeepers, then why does he like cooking and taking care of people? That´s what they ask him every time. He always answers that omegas are people too, they have likes and dislikes and hobbies. They should also have the right to choose what those likes, dislikes, and hobbies are.

There´s nothing wrong about liking cooking, or being soft, or caring for people. As long as you´re the one who chooses to be that way.

When he´s with Mark, Donghyuck doesn't have to explain why he does or doesn´t do things. Sure, Mark is curious about his reasons, and he always listens when Hyuck tells him about them. But Mark doesn´t make him feel like he has to justify or defend his actions, he makes him feel like he can just live and do and feel freely, without fighting tooth and nail for every single thing.

He really, really likes that.

The cake is small, and so it is quickly baked. Donghyuck explains to Mark why he can´t eat the goddamned cake while it´s still hot (the boy is hopeless). They wait until it´s cold enough to be decorated. Donghyuck lets Mark play around with the frosting.

“Am I doing okay?” Mark constantly asks. Donghyuck´s smiles brighten every time. His boyfriend is so cute.

“You´re doing great, Mark,” Hyuck answers every time. He helps the older omega with some of the details and technicalities. All in all, the cake turns out to be good.

They sit facing each other on the ground, still in the kitchen – it´s not like they could get dirtier anyways. As soon as Mark takes a bite, he melts.

“It´s so _good_ ,” he says, digging in for more. Donghyuck chuckles. “Seriously, Hyuck, you´re so good at this.”

“Nah, it´s just that your taste buds are damaged from so much instant ramen,” Donghyuck brushes off the compliment. Mark is not sure if his bad eyesight is tricking him or if Hyuck is blushing a little.

“Instant ramen is not that bad. I mean, I´m alive, so,” Mark shrugs. Donghyuck facepalms.

“I´ll have to stay with you for a long, long time just to ensure that you´re properly fed,” Donghyuck sighs. His heartbeat quickens at the mention of a future with Mark. He knows that´s what he wants, it remains to be seen if the older omega wants the same thing.

“I wouldn’t complain,” Mark replies with a smile. A slight blush is tinting his cheeks. He likes the thought of spending the rest of his life with Hyuck. And about that… “Hey, I actually wanted to ask you something…”

“What is it?”

“I-I just…” Mark fidgets. He´s a little (a lot) nervous about this. He just has to let it out. He takes in a shaky breath. “My heat is coming up sometime next week,” he says in a single breath.

“Okay,” Donghyuck nods at him, silently encouraging him to continue.

“I was wondering…if you´d spend it with me?” Mark asks. Donghyuck´s eyes widen. His heart stutters a bit.

Mark said “spend it with me”, not “help me with it”. He wants Donghyuck there; not just as a person who could be anyone, but as himself – as a boyfriend, and partner, and omega lover and Donghyuck.

“Of course,” the younger omega answers, a little short of breath. “I´d be honored to,” he says with a smile. Mark gives him back a nervous smile – and he´s still fidgeting. Hyuck frowns in worry. “Is that all?”

“I…my, my heats are a bit different. I don´t usually get the sex craving for three days, I get really emotional and clingy the first and last day, and only go through the sex craze during the second one,” he explains, not looking at Donghyuck in the eye. In a smaller voice, he adds: “I´m sorry if you mind.”

And this is the real reason why Mark has been so nervous to tell Hyuck about this. He knows he doesn´t have to be the perfect omega when he´s with Hyuck, but he does want to give things to him and make him happy and satisfy him, too. However, during his heat, it´s hard to control what he does: what if he refuses something Donghyuck wants? He should let him do whatever he wants with him and trust it to be the best thing for them.

Mark´s first partner, an alpha girlfriend he´d had, had complained about his heats. She´d said he only wanted to cuddle – and when she´d fucked him, he´d been mostly quiet, unlike what omegas in heat portrayed in the media ( ~~cough* porn~~ ) are. She´d been very disappointed, to say the least. He´d made sure to make more noise when he could remember during his heats.

And then, the other alpha guy he kind of dated in college, had complained too. He´d said Mark had cried and told him he didn´t want to get fucked, he only wanted a hug. He´d said Mark was probably sick and should go to the doctor to see if his hormones were messed up or something.

They always demanded more of him. They´d said that he didn´t care enough about them and their needs, that he´d be selfish if he refused them when they were trying to _help_ him with his heats. He doesn´t want Hyuck to think that he doesn´t care enough about him – not him, he´s special and the person Mark has ever cared for the most.

Mark didn´t like it, but anything was better than spending his heats alone. Plus, he felt validated by everyone when he´d go into heat and invite an alpha to help him with it – it´s not Hyuck´s case, he really wants to spend his heat with him. But that doesn´t mean he´s not nervous about it.

When he looks up to Donghyuck, he sees that the younger boy is utterly confused.

“Why would I mind?” he asks slowly. He has the feeling that he won´t like the answer.

“Um, my uh, former partners didn´t take it well…”

“I´m not angry or anything, and I don´t think I´d be entitled to,” Donghyuck replies. He tries to keep his voice neutral, lest Mark thinks he´s mad with him – no, he´s mad at the assholes who probably hurt him before. “Heat is about you and your needs. I´m only there to help, not add pressure.”

Mark is starring at him with an unreadable expression. Then, a small smile comes to his lips.

“That´s such a Hyuck thing to say,” he says with chuckle.

“What can I say? I´m special,” Donghyuck jokes, trying to lift the mood.

“Yeah, you are,” Mark replies. And he means it.

“Wanna talk it over?” Hyuck asks, extending his palm to the older boy. They both knows what he´s asking: to hear Mark´s story and see what he wants now.

“Okay.” He takes Hyuck´s hand and gives it a small squeeze. Hyuck returns it.

Mark tells Hyuck about his past partners. He tells him about pretending to be the perfect good little omega. He tells him about his insecurities and fears. He tells him how his thoughts about all of that have changed. He tells him what he´d like to happen now.

Donghyuck listens attentively to every word coming out of Mark´s mouth, and takes in every expression on his face. He only speaks to ask Mark questions – and to comfort him when he needs reassurance.

And once Mark is done speaking, they talk. Donghyuck tells Mark his thoughts on some matters. Mark agrees on some points and has a different perspective on others. They agree to disagree, as long as they are happy, safe and comfortable.

By the end of the night, they have also decided how to proceed with Mark´s heat. They will follow similar rules to Donghyuck´s heat rules. Except that they´re not really gonna be that tight about it. Kisses are actually allowed – and so are other _activities_ performed with a mouth; they´re not just friends anymore, so they can do some other things. Basically, the only thing they agreed not to do was dick penetration – because they don´t want their first time like that to be during heat. But, yeah.

By the end of the night, they have also exchanged multiple kisses and hugs. You know, Donghyuck loves smothering Mark with sweet shows of affection. And Mark likes letting Donghyuck smother him.

Mark is glad he asked Hyuck to spend his heat with him. Donghyuck is happy Mark trusted him enough to ask.

***

Donghyuck is glad Mark´s heat came on a Friday. On Mark´s request, Donghyuck didn´t skip today´s classes (“you have to save your absences for protest days and activism stuff, it´s important,” had been his argument. Donghyuck was very endeared by the action). So, instead of going over to Mark´s early in the morning, Hyuck gets there by midday – at least his classes end early on Fridays.

He puts on some comfortable clothes, exchanges his contacts for his prescription glasses, and grabs some stuff from the kitchen (he´s almost sure Mark doesn´t have any edible shit in his fridge). Then, he heads to the elder´s dorm.

The door opens almost instantly after he knocks. Mark is wearing a hoodie and basketball shorts. He has bed hair too. It´s an adorable sight. Oh, and he also smells like heaven – Donghyuck never knew snowdrop could smell so sweet and fresh.

“Hyuck,” is the first thing Mark says. Donghyuck´s silly heart picks up at the nickname, as if he hadn´t heard it before.

“Hey, Hyung, how are you doing?”

“Hmmm,” is the hummed response Mark gives him. He looks sleepy. “Can I get a Hyuck-hug?” Mark asks with big, shinning eyes and a soft voice. Donghyuck melts at the question.

“You can get as many as you want,” he answers with a smile, opening his arms. The older boy launches straight into his embrace. He buries his nose in the juncture of Donghyuck´s shoulder and neck.

“You smell so good,” Mark murmurs against his skin. Donghyuck chuckles. He brings a hand to Mark´s head to card his fingers through his hair.

“I don´t smell like alpha, though…?” He thought only alpha´s scent was alluring to omegas in heat – the way Mark´s scent had driven him crazy during his own heat had been an exception.

To his surprise, ever-patient-and-kind Mark Lee growls, and tightens his hold on Donghyuck´s waist.

“No,” the elder says with a pout. “No alphas on you. Only me.”

Donghyuck would be lying if he said he hadn´t blushed. He´d seen small things Mark did in a possessive streak, but it´d never been as direct as this. Donghyuck still likes it – likes knowing how much the black-haired omega cares about him.

“Only you, Canada,” he whispers back. Mark sighs happily, his shoulders releasing tension.

Well, this is definitely not what he was expecting. But it is a good surprise. Donghyuck likes this side of Mark too.

Donghyuck, as the responsible adult he is, knows that he should probably get some food in Mark now that he´s calm. He shuffles them inside and makes sure to lock the door. Mark doesn´t let go of him for even a second. Hyuck moves him to the kitchen.

“Can´t we lie down?” Mark asks, back to his sleepy self.

“How about you go lie down while I cook something for us?” Donghyuck proposes. Mark lets go of him. He looks up to Donghyuck with a worried frown on his pretty face.

“I´m being too much, aren´t I? I´m sorry,” Mark says, wringing his fingers in nervousness. And while the usual Mark would never say any of these things or be too bothered about little details, Mark in heat is completely honest – and vulnerable to all his insecurities. Donghyuck notices immediately.

“No, that´s not it,” he says softly, bringing ne hand up to gently caress the elder´s cheek. Mark leans into the touch. “I want you to be comfortable, but I also need to give you some food,” he explains. He places a quick smooch to the elder´s forehead. “You can stay here with me if you want.”

“Okay,” is Mark´s response. Once again, he latches onto Donghyuck – this time on his back, to allow him to cook.

They don´t talk while Hyuck cooks. Donghyuck is humming to one of Marks favorite songs as he prepares some simple kimchi with vegetables for them. All the while, Mark silently watches him, his chin perched on the younger´s shoulder.

Then, when they sit down on the table to eat, Mark has to let go of his embrace. However, he still makes sure to link Donghyuck´s pinky with his own. It feels right, makes him feel safe.

Donghyuck thinks it is all very cute.

After they´re done with their food, the younger omega suggests they watch a movie. They settle down on Mark´s bed, with the laptop at their feet. Donghyuck leans against the wall, and has Mark´s head resting on his lap. He cards his long fingers through the elder´s black locks, gently scratching his scalp.

Mark relaxes into his hold.

While lying on his lap, the thought that Donghyuck carries happiness in his veins passes through Mark´s brain. It makes sense, why his scent is so warm and welcoming. Because Donghyuck is the sun incarnate, shining on everything and everyone around him, lighting the way.

He feels really comfortable with Hyuck. He likes to be surrounded by his scent.

However, that comfort doesn't really last for long. They barely manage to finish the movie before Mark starts feeling the knots forming on his abdomen and giving him awful cramps. And, then there´s an awfully heated feeling in his body.

“Hyung, you alright?” Donghyuck asks, immediately noticing the elder´s discomfort.

“I hate this,” Mark groans. Donghyuck chuckles lightly: can relate.

“We all do, baby,” he answers, the petname slipping out of his mouth without his permission. He recovers fast enough from the shock. “What can I do to help you?”

“Cuddles,” he replies. Then, in a lower voice, he adds: “And keep calling me baby.”

Donghyuck feels his blood rush to his cheeks. Mark is gonna end up giving him a heart attack if he keeps being this cute.

“Okay, baby,” the younger boy complies (cause he´s whipped). He lays down beside Mark, pressing his chest to the elder´s back, enveloping him with his warm scent and reassuring presence. One of his hands circles around Mark´s waist and rubs at his stomach trying to ease the tension. He places a quick peck to the back the elder´s neck. Mark sighs in content at the action.

Donghyuck nuzzles into his neck, drinking in his scent.

Soon enough, Mark relaxes again. His eyes flutter closed, and he falls asleep.

Donghyuck doesn't fall asleep right away. He just keeps gently rubbing Mark´s tummy. And, as he looks at Mark, Donghyuck realizes he´s never been happier before. No one has ever made him feel the way Mark does.

That´s when Donghyuck realizes: he´s in love. Utterly and hopelessly and happily in love with the best boy in the world. The best boy in the world, with all of his attributes and qualities and little quirks. In every moment and at all times. Donghyuck loves Mark.

And that´s what love is, happiness, sadness, joy, anger, excitement, frustration, comfort, and so much more. Love is hope. Love is time. Love is effort. Love is choice. Love is hard work. Love is being there. Love is Mark – _to Donghyuck love is Mark_.

Nothing has ever felt truer to Donghyuck than loving Mark.

Funny thing that Donghyuck always gets this kind of realizations while lying on Mark´s bed, with the older omega asleep beside him. The world works in strange ways.

The silver-haired omega falls asleep with that little fact tucked safely in his heart.

***

Mark wakes up feeling unbearably hot, a searing desire burning in his gut. His shorts feel too tight and his hoodie too warm. His whole body is damp – and let´s not talk about the situation between his legs.

If it wasn´t for the comforting scent of cinnamon that´s enveloping him, he would´ve started crying by now. But, he´s still desperate.

“Hyuck,” he whines, his breath ragged. He feels Donghyuck move behind him. Then, his shoulders are pushed back so that he´s lying on his back instead of his side. The younger´s face hovers above him.

“What do you need, Hyung?”

“You, you, I want you, inside. Come on, Hyuck,” Mark pants desperately. He can smell it, the slight arousal in Donghyuck´s otherwise sweet scent. And yet, Donghyuck declines.

“I´d love to, but that´s not what we agreed to, baby,” he gently explains. One of his hands pushes Mark´s damp hair out of his forehead lovingly. Mark whines louder. “I´ll still help you, make you feel you good, okay?”

Mark´s brain can barely register anything other than the burning ache consuming him. He can only nod quickly.

Donghyuck starts undressing the older omega. He takes his hoodie off in a swift motion – and Mark shudders when he accidentally touches his nipples, goosebumps raising on his skin. Well, this is an interesting development. And Hyuck´s dick agrees.

Donghyuck´s hand runs by Mark´s taut abdomen, going up his ribs and ending in his firm chest. His tanned fingers go around his Hyung´s nipples, closing in more and more, until he´s stroking them again. He looks up to find Mark´s eyes half-lidded and glazed. And his chest is all flushed and pretty. Fuck.

“You´re sensitive here, baby?” Donghyuck asks, lightly pinching the elder´s nipple.

“Yeah,” Mark breathes out.

Donghyuck knows how awful it is to be in heat and get off every time without really getting relief. He also knows how satisfying it is to have an orgasm without touching himself – and then rave on down there when he´s more sensitive.

He thinks Mark will like this.

He leans down, kissing Mark´s lips slowly – cause now he can, cause this is different from his own heat and now they´re more than friends. The elder opens his mouth for him and Donghyuck lets his tongue explore and fight and pleasure. Mark´s hands dive into his hair to pull him closer and deepen the kiss further. Donghyuck lets his tongue slowly trace the seam of the elder´s lips. Then he bites and pulls, heat coiling in his stomach at the needy and breathy sounds Mark lets out.

All the while, Donghyuck keeps rubbing the hardened nubs between his fingers, swallowing all of Mark´s whimpers. Then, he starts leaving open-mouthed kisses down Mark´s chiseled jaw and long neck – sucking and biting and making sure Mark enjoys every second of it.

Mark´s neck and chest are covered in love-bites in no time. And Hyuck thinks it´s time to advance. He licks a fat stripe from Mark´s navel to his throat. And Mark´s whole body tenses before he releases a deep moan. And, by the wet and rich smell of snowdrop around them, Mark is gushing out slick too. Oh, but Donghyuck is not done yet. He ducks his head down again to latch his mouth to the elder´s nipple.

The reaction is immediate.

Mark´s head is tipped back, his mouth open in a gasp, his back arched, pushing his chest into Donghyuck´s warm and wet mouth.

Donghyuck laps the perky bud with his tongue, nips it with his teeth, hums around it. His hand is occupied with the boy´s other nipple. He twists and flicks, faster and faster every time. And Mark is writhing under him.

He looks so stunning like this; kiss-swollen lips and glazed eyes and flushed face and marked-up chest and labored breathing.

Hyuck doesn't let the black-haired omega´s cock touch anything.

“ _Hyuck_ , please,” Mark whimpers. The heat coiling in Donghyuck´s stomach only grows. He brings his mouth next to Mark´s ear, and lets his hand keep playing with him.

“You´re doing so good, baby,” Hyuck whispers. Mark lets out a whine. “So pretty and clingy, so perfect,” he murmurs. He feels Mark´s body tense up with each compliment. He keeps whispering sweet nothings to his ear until Mark comes with a loud moan.

And yet, he´s still hard. The downside of a heat. The older omega lets out a sob.

“More, I want more,” he breathes out. Donghyuck complies. He´s awfully hard too, but this is about Mark, and he needs to focus.

“Can you get on your knees for me, Hyung?”

“What?”

“Trust me on this one, Canada?” he asks. Mark only blinks owlishly for a moment before nodding and doing as Hyuck said. Even in heat, he trusts Donghyuck wholeheartedly. The younger boy kneels behind him.

He´ll be real on this one: he´s a tiny bit nervous. He´s never really done something like this for anyone. But he´ll make sure to make up for his inexperience with enthusiasm.

He takes off the elder´s basketball shorts – which are completely drenched in all kinds of body fluids. Then, he places his hands on Mark´s butt-cheeks and pulls them apart. He leans down and blows hot air on the elder´s wet hole. Mark gasps loudly, his breath getting faster by the second. And that´s all Hyuck needs to dive in. He licks at the other omega´s hole, tasting him for the first time.

“ _Hyuck_.”

“You taste _so_ good, Hyung.”

He eats the older boy out, his tongue going in and out of him, sucking and licking. He slurps and takes the omega´s slick into his mouth. And he has Mark pushing his hips back, moaning his name, whimpering for more, and whining about how good it feels. Maybe Hyuck´s never done this before – but he´s a fast learner, and pays attention to everything Mark seems to like. Sure, his chin and nose are covered in slick, but it is totally worth it, cause he gets to hear Mark moaning in pleasure.

When Mark starts getting too antsy and humping the bed, Donghyuck slides a hand between he elder´s legs, and fists his throbbing dick. He strokes him in time with his tongue on his ass. He circles his thumb around the head and slightly digs his nail into the slit. He jerks Mark off fast and hard and yet, with an underlying care.

Mark comes again and again and again. With Donghyuck giving him more pleasure than any of his alpha partners could.

And Mark likes this – likes being the center of attention and being taken care of. He likes being spoiled every once in a while. He likes not having to worry all the time about what his partner will deem appropriate or not. He likes being able to let go, and know that he´s going to be okay for real.

He likes this. He likes this with Hyuck.

By the end of the second day, Mark is satisfied and completely exhausted. His thighs are burning in the best way.

Donghyuck barely manages to clean some of the cum and slick off him, and put on new bedsheets before Mark is falling asleep again. He guesses the shower will have to wait till the morning.

The younger boy lays down beside Mark – when an arm falls on him. He smiles when he sees that Mark is trying to get closer to him, even in his sleep. He pulls the older omega close, comfortably falling asleep in his arms.

***

“You smell so much like me,” is the first thing Mark says to Donghyuck when they wake up the next morning. He has a huge, stupidly endearing smile on his face about it, too. Donghyuck can´t help smiling back just as brightly.

“Well, I did eat you out as if there was no tomorrow,” Hyuck says matter-of-factly. Mark´s face is red within an instant. The heat shamelessness is already coming off.

“Hyuck,” he whines, burying his head in the pillow in embarrassment. Donghyuck chuckles, getting closer to him still.

“Nothing to be ashamed of, Canada. And, in my humble opinion, you did really good,” he teases. Mark huffs and scrunches his nose cutely.

“You´re the one who was good to me,” Mark grumbles cutely. Donghyuck tries not to be affected by the statement. But ends up blushing anyway. Good thing Mark can´t hear his heart going crazy inside his chest. He clears his throat.

“I didn´t really get the chance to clean us up properly. You up for a shower?”

“Hmm,” Mark hums. He huddles closer to Donghyuck, bringing an arm around his waist. While his embarrassment is coming back, his clinginess and honesty are still very much present. “I don´t want to let go of you.”

Donghyuck´s heartbeat stutters a beat. He truly loves this boy.

“We can go together if you want.”

Mark hums happily. He could fall back asleep with how comfortable he feels surrounded by the mix of his and Hyuck´s scents. However, Donghyuck knows him too well; he makes them sit up and gives Mark some water. Mark tells Hyuck he should drink some too. The younger omega is endlessly endeared.

He pulls Mark out of the bed – blanket and all, cause the boy is naked and shy, even after all this ordeal –, takes his hand and drags him to the bathroom. He only lets go of Mark´s hand to turn on the shower.

Donghyuck hurries the older omega into the shower. He asks him if he wants him to stay or if he prefers for Hyuck to wait outside. Mark tells him to come into the shower with him.

Donghyuck slips out of his sweats and t-shirt. He takes in a shaky breath. He´s a tiny bit nervous – he´s never done this before (again), and he feels vulnerable. He doesn´t like it. But he knows this heat is about Mark. And he loves the boy to no end; he can make an effort. He gets into the shower with Mark.

Mark doesn´t look at him in the eyes. Donghyuck touches his shoulder gently.

“Everything alright, Hyung?” he asks in a soft voice. Mark gulps.

“I´m just…a bit more muscular than other omegas,” he lets out. He hadn´t really thought about that in a long time – his clothes didn´t really let his complexion show. And yesterday he´d been too out of his mind to care. But now…all of his insecurities, even the smallest ones, always resurface in his heats – that´s why they hit so hard.

Donghyuck brings a sure and kind hand to his waist, softly caressing Mark´s side. His other hand comes up to brush his thumb against the elder´s cheek, oh so achingly tender.

“I like every part of you, Canada,” he states. Mark´s cheeks heat up, and he bits his lip to hold off a smile. “You´re perfect just the way you are.”

Mark buries his face in Donghyuck´s shoulder bashfully. He takes in the comforting scent and warm body and sincere words. He feels a wave of fondness crashing over him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You´re fulfilling my muscle kink, too,” the younger jokes. Mark smacks his arm with no real heat. He bites down on his lips to hold off his giggles.

Donghyuck takes the chance to put some shampoo on his hands and start massaging the elder´s scalp. His long fingers card through the black locks, making Mark relax into his hold. Then, Hyuck rinses his hair with the most careful and gentle hands that have ever touched Mark.

Mark returns the favor. Of course, Donghyuck tries to complain, but Mark is having none of it; he pouts out his bottom lip and the fight is over for Hyuck. (He´s so whipped, newsflash).

They wash each other tenderly, firmly, fondly. They relish on being together, just like this, under the spray of warm water. Touching softly, washing away the tiredness. Being there completely bare – and happy.

Donghyuck wraps them up in soft towels. They pat their bodies dry and dress up in whatever they can find in Mark´s closet. They both end up in sweatpants and hoodies. Oh, yeah, and their respective glasses. They rock the cute and domestic boyfriends look.

Donghyuck makes sure to towel Mark´s hair dry (it´s easy to get sick if you´re in heat). Afterwards, he drags him back into the bed for cuddles, and to drown in their freshly washed scents. Mark is happy, his back resting against the headboard and Hyuck laying on his chest, rubbing circles into his abdomen, in case any heat-related soreness was still there.

Donghyuck really is unlike any other person he´s ever met. He´s so sincerely selfless, and takes care of people just in the way they need to be cared for. He´s teasing, and yet so gentle. He makes Mark giggle and feel so many things in his chest, he feels like he´s going to explode.

He´s still not able to get over how endeared and thankful he is for Hyuck. These last three days have really been the epitome of their relationship. Donghyuck making him feel comfortable, safe and cared for in his most vulnerable moments…yeah, he loved that.

As he loves the mutuality in their relationship. It´s not giving and taking; it´s giving and receiving and giving back. It´s always about them as a couple and as individuals. It´s about being happy together and walking the road step by step, interlaced pinkies all the way.

Mark has come to realize that finds comfort and happiness and security in Hyuck in a way that he´d never felt before with anyone or anything – except books.

And it hits him. Like a brick to the face. He even gasps dramatically and everything.

Mark likes Hyuck for the same reasons he loves books. Mark has learned so much from Hyuck, and the boy is always keeping him on his toes. Donghyuck makes him forget reality, hope for a better world, and feel like he could help it happen. Hyuck doesn’t make him feel less alone; he makes him feel accompanied, guarded, looked after – like he could go anywhere and do anything and Donghyuck´s pinky would still be intertwined with his in silent support and teasing challenge. With Donghyuck, he doesn´t have to pretend, he can just be himself.

No. Mark doesn´t just like Hyuck for the same reasons he loves books.

_Mark loves Hyuck for the same reasons he loves books._

Growth, comfort, hope, support, authenticity…Those are all such _Hyuck_ things to give him. Mark loves it. Mark loves being an _us_ with Hyuck. Mark Lee loves Lee Donghyuck.

And it´s okay.

The realization makes him happy. Yeah, he could definitely spend the rest of his heats with Hyuck just like this. Actually, he would be happy to spend every day with Hyuck, however it was.

“What has you smiling so prettily, baby?”

“You.”

“Such a flirt, Canada.”

“Learned from the best…Johnny Hyung.”

“Mark Lee! You unromantic ass!”

Mark chuckles, and places a quick peck on the younger´s lips. _If you knew how much I love you, you´d call me a sap_ , he thinks with unmatched fondness and warmth.

If only he knew the same words were going through Donghyuck´s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: snowdrops mean hope, and cinnamon stands for warmth, and Mark looks for home and safety in Hyuck (which are both associated with warmth), and Hyuck looks for hope in a better world in Mark. Yay, I´m a huge sap with this kind of things! Sorry haha. 
> 
> Oh yeah, and my attempt at soft-ish heat smut (sorry about that too).
> 
> So that´s it for this week! Lots of dialogue (again), I can´t decide if it´s a good or bad thing, but whatever.  
> Hope you liked it! And the last chapter is also up now bc inspiration spree, so yeah...
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


	9. New beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Donghyuck come to see how far they´ve come in their relationship - and how much farther they want to go together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last one! So much fluff and (Attempt at) smut ahead, so beware  
> I hope you enjoy!

Donghyuck enjoys partying. He likes going out with his friends, drinking and dancing. But most people tell him that the partying doesn’t go with his character. They tell him going to a party and not looking for a hookup is ridiculous. They tell him going to a party is looking for trouble with alphas.

Can’t he be at a party if he doesn’t want to be groped – or worse? He gets it, the probability of that happening at a party is higher, but it’s still complete bullshit to let abusers off just cause they’re a party and usually inebriated. However, people like to blame alcohol and instincts for everything.

Being in rut or close to it, doesn’t give them the right to disregard another’s feelings, thoughts and wishes. They get a sex frenzy, not a complete brain/humanity shut down. They can try to blame nature, but they’re beasts by choice. And the same thing happens with alcohol. Sure, they’re more likely to lose control and their judgement is clouded, but that is not nearly a good excuse for their actions. 

Donghyuck thinks rape is not a passionate crime, but a pre-thought, opportunistic one.

But people seem to find alcohol and instincts to be a good enough justification for the evil they hold inside. _And_ then they try to put the responsibility on the victim´s clothes or attitude or being there. Bastards.

Despite all of this, Donghyuck still likes partying. (And he’s not letting assholes take it away from him). So, when Yuta asks him to go to his party, he says yes, after all, it´s been some time since he last went out like that. Plus, Yuta made a point of inviting all of his friends.

What he wasn´t expecting is Mark going to the party too. Don´t get him wrong, he likes it. But Mark is not usually one for parties, he finds them too annoying.

“Why do you have that stupid look on your face?” Mark asks with his head cocked to the side in confusion.

“Okay, first, ouch. Why are you so aggressive, Canada? Second, I´m only surprised, that´s it,” Donghyuck defends himself.

“Well, I can´t let my gorgeous boyfriend go alone to a party,” Mark replies slowly. Donghyuck smiles; he loves it when Mark calls him his boyfriend.

“You gonna protect me from big bad people, baby?” he teases with a smirk.

“You can kick ass yourself, I just happen to enjoy watching you do it,” the older omega shrugs. Donghyuck grips at his boyfriend´s hoody and brings him in for a quick smooch.

He is so endeared by this boy, gosh. Donghyuck is so fucking in love.

They get a couple of detours as they try to change into some party-worthy outfits. But none of them mind.

***

Truthfully, Mark hates parties. He sees no use in a party. If you ask him, little reunions with close friends are more fun. And less noisy, messy and costly. If his friends had asked him to go with them (they´ve given up on his relationship with parties by now), he would´ve said no. But Donghyuck is a completely different case.

First off, Hyuck didn´t ask; he informed Mark that he was going to a party and told him he could tag along if he wanted to, but he never ever pressured Mark. Second off, Mark is whipped and in love. He might not be the best at words, but he wants to do things for Donghyuck too. Going to a party won´t hurt him, and if it makes Hyuck happy, then it´s totally worth it.

Besides, the party is more fun than Mark would’ve thought. Taken, Donghyuck has been by his side through most of it and that definitely makes it better, but still.

Dancing with Hyuck will forever stay in Mark´s list of favorite things to do. The boy is just so…bright when he dances. And the confidence with which he dances is so damned attractive. And then there are those looks Donghyuck throws his way when they dance: a little flirty and smug and oh so hot. Plus, the sight of his long silver hair plastered to his neck, his flushed cheeks and cocky smile…

Donghyuck dancing is a stunning sight to behold.

If he wants to add another nice thing on top of that there´s the fact that Mark loves the way Donghyuck´s hands go around Mark, guiding him and holding him close.

He feels a little bothered by the amount of people asking him to dance with him, though. But, whatever. He doesn´t really care that much. Mark could be anywhere in the world, and if he had Hyuck by his side, it would be fine. It´d still feel warm and safe. It´d still be home for him.

On the other hand, Donghyuck is bothered by this. Can´t all this people see that he´s holding Mark´s hand? Can´t they see they´re together? Usually, if you think someone is in a relationship, you don´t ask them to dance with you at a party.

Then there are the looks. Those hungry, lustful gazes are not something the younger omega isn´t used to; he happens to be appealing to the eyes, too. Yet, if those looks are directed at him, he can react and respond. But if they´re focused on Mark, he can´t do much, apparently.

Mark avoids those looks, cause he doesn't like confrontation and doesn’t think it´s worth to get in trouble, especially with drunk people. Donghyuck understand his point; in this specific situation, he wouldn´t really react with anything other than a nasty gesture to those gazes. However, that doesn't mean he doesn´t feel affected.

It is a weird feeling, something he´d never experienced before.

He feels angry, powerless and diminished when people see him holding Mark´s hand and still ask him to dance with them. He´s bothered that they don´t even consider him a potential partner for Mark. He´s not a threat to their flirting.

He´s an omega holding another omega´s hand, and so he doesn't count. In their eyes, he´s not even an inconvenience. He´s just nothing. It´d be the same if he was beside Mark as if he wasn´t.

It is at times like this, when this kind of thing happens, that doubt crawls into Donghyuck´s mind. It makes him wonder if he´s the right person for the older boy.

Sometimes he fears that he won´t be enough. He won´t be a good enough partner for Mark, not like an alpha could be for him. He won´t be able to give him a normal enough relationship. He won´t be able to meet his expectations enough for him to stay.

He fears that Mark will someday wake up and tell him he´s done with his experiment. He fears that he´ll suddenly think this was a mistake, or that he was only confused. He fears Mark won´t ever be able to love him fully.

Rationally, he knows it´s stupid.

If he really thinks about it, his fears are quite unfounded too. Which is why he usually ignores them, and walks up and does what he wants anyway. However, when things like this happen, he remembers; the fact that he´s managed to hide his fears well enough so that even he forgets they exist, doesn't mean that they suddenly disappeared.

He wont´s say anything about it, though. Probably not to anyone, ever. This time it´s not a matter of distrust, but a matter of vulnerability and control. Donghyuck hates being vulnerable and he hates not having control. Not talking to people about his problems, and just thinking them over by himself is something he´s used to. Mark knows this too.

He´s not scared of Mark having his heart and breaking it. He´s not scared of Mark taking advantage of him in any way. He´s not scared of being vulnerable in front of Mark and getting hurt. No, it´s none of that; he knows the boy would never ever hurt him on purpose.

What he´s scared of is Mark not liking this more vulnerable and less rational side of him.

Donghyuck, like everyone, has his own flaws. One of his biggest ones is hiding behind the anger and the jokes. Cause that´s his strong façade; nothing can hurt Lee Donghyuck. And for that façade to work, he needs to hide the shame of getting hurt, of having a sensitive heart, of needing support sometimes too.

He knows that being able to hold up himself doesn´t mean he can´t ask for help, or someone to listen, or a shoulder to cry on. But when that happens, he can´t help but feel like that side of him is weak, and he should be ashamed of it.

The only times he ever let that happen with Mark were his heat (which ended horribly, by the way) and when he showered with Mark (and Mark was too sleepy to notice shit).

Strength is one of the qualities people close to him like about him. Wouldn´t they think Donghyuck is liar if they knew he has not so strong moments too?

He´s been seen as a little hero for so long – by his siblings, by his friends – that he doesn´t know how to let himself be the one in need of saving. He´s managed to fool himself into believing that what he shows is all there is to him, no vulnerability to hide.

It´s…shitty. Yeah, that sounds about right. His fears of Mark and his fears of himself mixing over. It sucks.

And, like always, he doesn´t say anything about this to said boy. And he feels like a hypocrite about it cause he´s always asking others to speak their mind. Ugh. He´ll have to figure it out at some point in his life, like he always does. He´s probably just doubting dumb shit because he´s finally happy.

It´s not that much of a big deal.

They leave the party a bit sooner than expected. Donghyuck smiles through it all.

***

Mark is utterly, stupidly, hopelessly in love with Donghyuck. I mean, it´s not a secret. But seeing Donghyuck sitting on his bed with a pillow hugged to his chest, with his long silver hair falling over his deep brown eyes, his cute sweater paws, his sweet and warm scent, his pretty lips on a bright smile, and his honey voice singing along with Mark… _woah_. A sight so beautiful as this one makes the butterflies in Mark´s stomach flutter and the blood on his veins sizzle with fondness. 

Hyuck just makes Mark feel important and cared for. He makes him feel invincible, yet protected. He makes him feel brave, like he can finally be who he wants to be if he only dares.

But Mark is not only in love with the feelings Donghyuck gives him. He´s in love with the boy, too.

Mark is in love with how soothing Hyuck´s soothing voice and sharp words. He´s in love with his jokes and witty comments. He´s in love with his loud laugh and pretty moles. He´s in love with his intelligence and his courage. He´s in love with his compassion and his cooking. _God_ , he could go on for an eternity just saying everything he loves about Donghyuck.

And he wants to know everything there is to Donghyuck. He wants to stay by his side for a long, long time. He wants to be there for him, support him, see him achieve all his dreams.

“Do you know the chords to this song, Hyung?” the younger omega asks, interrupting his inner ranting. Mark looks over to the song Donghyuck is playing on his phone. He clears his throat.

“I could look them up,” he answers. Donghyuck snickers at him.

“Ugh, you only know love songs, Canada,” he teases, a smug smile adorning his pink lips. The older boy rolls his eyes.

Mark thinks he would sing all love songs in this world to Hyuck if he could. It´s sappy and whipped, but also true. So, Mark decides to tell him, red-tinted cheeks and all.

“I love you, Hyuck.”

What happens next is not what he was expecting after confessing his love to his boyfriend.

Without his permission, Donghyuck´s eyes fill up with tears. His lower lip starts quivering without control, and a knot finds its way to his throat. He tries to take in a calming breath – and breaks out in a sob.

Hearing those words come out of Mark´s lips broke the armor Donghyuck keeps around his deepest feelings, and then strung him back together. It feels like when you´ve been fighting the gigantic waves with all your might for so long, that it´s become part of your routine, and you don´t even notice it most days – then, suddenly a strong hand pulls you up and you can breathe again. It overwhelms you and fills you with relief. 

It´s like everything he avoided to protect himself suddenly vanished, and love, fear and everything in between crashed on to him. And he can´t contain it.

The younger omega tries to cover his face with his hands. He doesn´t want Mark to see him cry, much less about this. However, the elder doesn´t let him close up; he grabs his wrists gently and pulls Donghyuck´s arms around himself. He envelops Hyuck in a hug, letting him dig his face into his neck and soak his hoodie with his tears.

“I´m sorry, I don´t even know why I´m crying, I don´t usually cry,” Donghyuck says between sobs. Mark strokes his back comfortingly.

“It´s okay to cry,” he murmurs back. This is something he´d never done before; the roles were always the other way around. This is a side of Hyuck he´d never seen.

But Mark loves Hyuck like this too. He loves him when he´s happy, when he´s sad, when´s strong, when he´s vulnerable, when he´s angry, when he´s having fun, when he´s brave, when he´s scared, when he´s bouncing off the walls, and when he´s asleep, too. Mark loves every part of Donghyuck, in every moment. Always.

“Even if I´m crying over something silly?” Hyuck asks in a small voice.

“Remember what you always tell me? Your feelings are never silly,” Mark whispers softly, carding his fingers through the silver locks. “I can´t tell you not to cry, I can only tell you that I hope you´ll smile again soon.”

And it´s like a dam broke with Mark´s comforting words, cause Donghyuck lets go, and cries harder. The older boy holds him in his arms with care, lets him cry for however long he needs, all the while making his support known through caring touches. 

It is a curious thing. Surrounded by Mark´s snowdrop scent, Donghyuck doesn´t feel the usual shame or guilt creeping up on him. He feels seen, bare, vulnerable – and safe.

It’s not like in his heat, when he felt safe enough to be vulnerable cause he really didn’t have much choice. Yes, his breakdown wasn’t planned nor really controlled, but he’s doing it with a free mind, and he could walk out of here if he wanted to. All in all, he´s letting Mark see him like this of his whole will.

And he feels safe. Safe and certain; Mark is here for him cause he wants to be, and he’s not leaving.

Mark hugs Hyuck tight enough to shatter his fears and set him free.

He lets himself be comforted for once.

When he (finally) stops crying, and his breathing is going back to normal, he pulls back to look at the elder. Mark still has a concerned expression etched on his handsome face. Donghyuck would normally boop his nose and tell him he´ll go bald if he keeps worrying so much – however, this is no usual situation, and Donghyuck thinks he needs to confront it.

“I didn´t think you´d say it,” Hyuck murmurs, his voice a little cracked from so much crying.

“What?” Mark asks, his head cocked to the side with confusion.

“I…I´ve been having a bunch of stupid, unfounded doubts and got to the conclusion that you would never love me,” he lets out quietly. Aloud it sounds even more senseless than in his head.

“Why would you think that?” Mark asks with a sad frown. Donghyuck instantly feels bad for making the older boy sad.

“Literally no reason. I was just scared, I guess,” he shrugs. Then, he groans. “I hate feelings.”

Mark lets out a little chuckle before speaking up again.

“Maybe we can talk about it, figure it out together?” Mark proposes. “Feeling, doubting or asking for help, they don´t make you any less strong, Hyuck. That you´re able to handle everything by yourself doesn´t mean you need to.”

Donghyuck nods slowly, trying not to burst out in tears again. Theoretically, Mark isn´t saying anything new, but his reassurance is exactly what Donghyuck needed. It forces him to see that his way of understanding, feeling and coping is alright. It makes him see how unfair he´s being to himself. And he won´t magically change overnight, but it might be easier if someone is there to guide him when he loses his way.

Mark has seen the broken pieces behind the anger and the jokes, and he´s still here. That itself motivates Hyuck. It´s enough for a start. He knows he can get through this one, and he doesn´t have to do it alone.

“I´d like that a lot,” the younger boy says, finally smiling.

That´s when Hyuck lets go of some of the things he´s been carrying on his back for a while. He admits that he´s not good at telling stuff regarding this specific topic, he says why. And Mark listens with his full attention, his pretty eyes focused on the younger boy and his hand rubbing calming circles on his back.

Mark doesn´t understand fully, since this kind of thing never happened to him, but he remains there and makes sure Donghyuck knows he´ll always support him.

“Hyuck?”

“Yes?” he answers playfully. Mark takes his now swollen face between his gentle hands. His thumbs caresses Hyuck´s tanned cheeks softly. He looks straight into the omega´s eyes and says:

“I just wanted to say that I´ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it, I love you.”

Tears stream down Donghyuck´s face, but he´s smiling bright enough to put the sun to shame. A wet laugh leaves his lips. And Mark kisses his tears away; he leaves quick pecks on every one of Hyuck´s moles, he leaves kisses on his brow and cheeks and eyelids.

A giggle bursts out of Donghyuck´s mouth.

“I love you so much, baby.”

Mark´s breath hitches for second. Then, his heart stars beating twice as fast against his ribcage. A huge smile comes to his pretty face, accompanied by a faint blush.

“That´s my line.”

“Mark fucking Lee, I demand that you share it with me.”

“Only because I like the way it sounds when you say it.”

“I love you, Mark.”

“And I love you, Hyuck.”

It´s an understatement to say they keep smiling like idiots.

They spent the rest of the night wrapped in each other´s arms, talking softly in between gentle kisses.

***

They talk about a lot of things. Like with everything else, Donghyuck and Mark decide that discussing the topic first is important for their comfort and safety. When they decide to have sex, they fall into it at their own pace. They want it, and feel ready for it. And so they do it, with no rush, and their pinkies intertwined all the way.

They are both a little nervous and a lot excited. It´s different from their respective heats; the two boys will be perfectly conscious all the time, and what they can or can´t do becomes a little blurry. In heat, it is obvious who´s supposed to do the caring, and who´s supposed to receive it. But now, they can care and be cared for in the same amount, and they can figure out how their dynamic works without biology being a bitch.

Mark wants this with Donghyuck. It´ll be different from anything he did with his past partners, but he´s not scared. With Donghyuck, he knows that it won´t be a one-sided thing. He knows he doesn´t need to worry about disappointing an inflexible partner, or submitting to someone else. He can be himself, be safe, enjoy, work it out with Hyuck.

Donghyuck wants this with Mark too. He´s a bit out of his comfort zone cause he´s never done this, but he doesn´t have anything to fear with Mark by his side. He doesn´t need to be strong or delicate, he can be both. With Mark, he can reunite these complex sides of himself without conflict. He knows they can walk the way together, freely and unafraid.

It´s different, but it´s _them_ , and that´s what matters the most. They don´t need to follow anyone else´s rules or traditions or “perfect” images. Besides, they´ve already figured out that different is okay. They like different. Different allows them to have their own kind of intimacy, to experiment and find out what they want, to be their own person and enjoy it.

They´ve been kissing for a good while now, with the younger on Mark´s lap. Their shirts were discarded long ago, somewhere on the floor. Hands roam each other´s bodies eagerly, yet gently. Lips latch on soft skin, leaving small love bites on the wake. Bodies rock with one another over their still clothed bottoms. Gasps and hearts beating in synchrony is all that can be heard.

Soon enough, Donghyuck starts feeling Mark´s hardness underneath him. Their scents have turned sweeter and richer, the note of arousal clear in the dampness permeating the air. 

“Hyung, c´mon,” he says in a breathy voice. He detangles himself from the elder, takes his pants and briefs off, and lies down on the bed. He takes in a shaky breath, willing his heart to calm down.

“You okay?” Mark asks, ever so attentive to his needs. The younger omega nods. Mark takes a second to travel his body with his eyes, his gaze full of admiration and want. His hands come up to caress Hyuck´s tanned sides and then his wonderfully long legs. He murmurs: “You´re so stunning, Hyuck.”

And Donghyuck feels a blush coming to his cheeks. Between his deep voice saying those words and the way Mark stares at his kiss-swollen lips, slightly bruised chest and bare thighs, he can´t help but feel appreciated, and a little shy. He likes it so much, likes that Mark knows how to reassure him without making him feel weak.

“Let´s get it, baby,” he says as Mark climbs between his open legs, albeit a little hesitant. He lets out a breath. Donghyuck takes his face between his hands ad looks into his big doe eyes before saying: “You´re absolutely fully capable Mark Lee, and my number one student. You can do this, Canada!”

Mark half-heartedly groans, rolling his eyes for good measure. He finds himself endeared and weirdly motivated by those words. He chuckles before pecking Donghyuck quickly a couple of times and taking his hand down, where the younger boy wants it.

Mark presses his forefinger into Hyuck´s sweet wetness, relishing in the sigh that comes out of the younger´s lips. Mark swallows it with his lips, and Donghyuck pulls him closer, carding his fingers through his dark locks.

Finger by finger, Mark eases in. It doesn't take him long to find Hyuck´s sweet spot. He curls his fingers, stroking the boy´s walls with every thrust of his pale fingers. Donghyuck´s honey voice drips everywhere with his moans, filling the elder with ecstasy.

Donghyuck too, doesn´t let Mark unattended. He plays with the boy´s nipples, pinching and stroking them. He takes every one of Mark´s groans in his mouth as they kiss, letting his tongue lull out the breathy sounds he´s making.

It might sound wet, lewd and dirty, but there´s an underlying softness to it. It´s in the way they look at each other like there´s nothing else in the world. In the way they bury their faces in each other´s necks to have more of their scents. In the way they touch with intent and confidence and care.

“You ready?” the older omega asks in a low voice.

“If you take any longer, I might just do it myself,” Donghyuck teases. Mark pinches his thigh lightly, and the younger boy squeaks. “Meanie.”

Mark rolls his eyes, and lets the other omega do whatever he wants. The uptilted corners of his mouth give him away, though.

Donghyuck pushes back Mark´s shoulders, putting his back against the bed, and getting on top of him again. When they talked about it, they were doubtful about their arrangement, since they didn´t really know what would work for them. They simply based this off from wanting to be on equal grounds; a first time for both of them. Hyuck has never had sex with anyone else, and Mark has never topped, so they choose to do it like that. And Donghyuck will ride Mark, because he´s still not completely comfortable with the vulnerability thing (he´s working on it, though).

The atmosphere is tense, like when you know something big is about to happen, and the excitement has you buzzing. However, there is not a trace of fear or anxiousness; talking about sex before sex proves to be extremely useful, apparently.

There is no need for any kind of power dynamics. It is not about one dominating and one submitting. It´s not about taking and being taken. It´s not about conquer and defeat. It´s about helping each other fight against their own demons. It´s about being together in the closest and most intimate way they could think of. It´s about them being each other´s safe place.

Donghyuck´s hand travels down Mark´s body. He takes some of the elder´s slick in his hand, and coats his dick with it – he loves the way their scents mix together. He sits himself above Mark, slowly taking him in. Inch by inch, he takes the older boy into his heated and wet hole. He feels the stretch, but it is a pleasurable kind of pain. He lets out a little whine he finally fits Mark´s full length inside him. The elder lets out a gasp.

“You´re so strong and beautiful,” Mark says, looking at Hyuk with so much love in his eyes. Donghyuck´s hands caress his lean torso fondly, taking his wrecked appearance in.

“You´re so good to me, so pretty,” Donghyuck replies with a little smile. Mark´s ears get instantly red at the compliment. The younger boy chuckles lightly, leave it to Mark to be bashful right now.

He places his hands on the boy´s firm chest and is rewarded by Mark holding him in place by the waist. He starts moving his hips up and down, picking up a rhythm. He feels so unbelievably full, and overwhelmed by so many emotions. He´s so incredibly happy to be here with Mark like this, just smiling at each other so softly.

They go at their own pace. Hyuck brings his hips down and Mark meets him halfway, thrusting up into him. Donghyuck lets out whiny, high-pitched moans whenever the older boy´s tip touches that special bundle of nerves inside him. Mark moans so prettily whenever Donghyuck tightens around him.

They praise each other with small whispers and gentle caresses. They let each other know how much they care and want. They don´t take this only as a result of carnal desire, but also as a promise of love.

Donghyuck loves the way Mark looks underneath him; messy black hair, sweaty pale skin, flushed muscled chest, pretty doe eyes, beautiful pink lips. But what he loves the most is the blissed-out expression on his face and the happiness in his gaze. He loves this boy with his whole heart.

Mark finds himself having similar thoughts about Hyuck. He really adores how breathtaking he looks, with his mouth open in a soft moan, and his half-lidded eyes burning. He loves the teasing words and the compliments. He loves that Hyuck loves him back, and it shows in his pretty smile.

The older omega comes first. And, at the feeling of Mark pulsing inside of him, the younger boy is brought over the edge quickly too.

Then, Donghyuck lets himself fall face-first on top of Mark, letting out a disgruntled groan. Mark chuckles at him, threading his fingers in the silver locks. They know they´re lying in a pool of cum and slick, but they don´t really care.

“I love you and all, but we´re kinda sticky,” Donghyuck says against Mark´s neck. The elder huffs, the corners of his lips uptilted still.

“I´m pretty sure this is one of your evil plots, and you just want to drag me into the shower with you,” he replies.

“Are you opposed to that?”

“No,” he admits, feeling blood coming up to his cheeks and ears. He can feel Hyuck smiling smugly against his skin.

“You´re cute, Hyung,” he singsongs, a teasing edge to his honey voice. Mark rolls his eyes, but a fond smile breaks out on his lips.

“And you´re a menace,” Mark replies. Only then does Donghyuck come out of his shelter in the juncture of Mark´s neck and shoulder to pout at him rather pettily.

“You still love me,” Donghyuck says childishly. Mark pushes some of his long silver hair out of his eyes to look right into them when he says:

“I do.”

“Good, cause I love you too,” he finishes with a boop on the elder´s nose, which results in Mark scrunching it adorably. Hyuck giggles. “Race you to the shower!”

Mark thanks god and the gym for his fast reflexes, because he manages to wrap his arms around the younger boy before he can do something reckless and hurt himself (Mark hadn´t been that careful after his first time, and it sucked). Of course, Donghyuck whines, demanding to be released. Instead of that, Mark decides to throw him over his shoulder and carry him to the shower.

It´s not romantic, and Hyuck complains about it, too. But it´s them, and that´s okay. They are content like this.

***

In the next few days, Donghyuck keeps coming to the same conclusion, time and time again.

He´s undeniably the happiest he´s ever been.

Right now, from where he´s seated on the edges of the field, he can´t think of a view he´d like better; Mark playing basketball with their friends, with determination written all over his face. The sweat shines on his skin, and makes his dark hair stick to his forehead. His muscles ripple with every maneuver, and he moves so agilely in the field. The t-shirt he´s wearing clings to his lean frame like a second skin, and the way he handles the ball has Donghyuck imagining _things_.

But the best of it all is seeing how loved Mark is. How Jeno gives him a bro-dude handshake every time he scores. How Chenle pinches his cheeks and calls him cute. How Yuta, Jungwoo and him keep saying each other´s names in a high-pitched voice for an awkward laugh. How Johnny pretends to be blown away every time he pats his back. How Yukhei laughs loudly at his (lame but cute) jokes. How Jaehyun randomly launches into singing with him.

Donghyuck is so unbelievably happy.

Happy at how Mark looks over to him when a play is done. Happy at how he comes over with a smile that crinkles the corners of his eyes and looks so pretty on him. Happy at how Mark pushes his long silver hair out of his eyes to gaze at him lovingly. Happy at how Mark brightens up when he lays a sweet kiss to his brow.

Just so, so happy they´ve come all this way together.

And he knows there will be hardships; there will be people who disagree with them and their relationship, there will be misunderstandings at some time or the other, there will be mishaps and surprises, there will be insecurities and injustices. But Donghyuck also knows that they can face all of it together, step by step, slowly figuring out their pace, walking the way with their pinkies interlaced. Pain in this world is inevitable, but suffering is a choice. He chooses to try to be happy.

They will grow and change and stay. That´s how Mark and Donghyuck work. No matter what the world says or does, they will have each other, and their friends for support. It´s okay, and it will be alright.

After all, Mark and Donghyuck are two omegas that found love and happiness together in a world that is unfair to them. Good thing they have found strength in each other, too. Better yet that they want to change said world with their daily small actions of defiance.

Mark and Donghyuck. A wolf against a wolf, with no space between them, but an infinity of experiences, feelings and words pressed to each other´s chest. A wolf against a wolf, together to fight and win. A wolf against a wolf, different but equal. A wolf against a wolf, nothing more to add.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don´t really know what to say about the smut, not my best def. But well, I hope you enjoyed the rest! And sorry for the typos in this whole thing :| 
> 
> I had fun writing this fic, and it´s been one of the ideas I wanted to do the most, so yeah… I´m kind of fond of it even if it didn´t turn out the way I thought it would at first. Anywaysss, tell me if you liked it! Constructive criticism is always well-received too. Imma go stream now ✌
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)

**Author's Note:**

> Can you tell that I´m obsessed with ABO? It´s kinda my guilty pleasure to read ABO (especially with slowburn), but, sadly, most of them are only smut :( *sighs* Sooo, I just have to write my own haha. 
> 
> Anyways, hope that you enjoyed this!! Tell me what you think :) 
> 
> [Twitter !](https://twitter.com/tooweird2live1)


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